A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume X Part 19

The _King's_ or _Pearl_ Islands, are a considerable number of low woody isles, seven leagues from the nearest continent, and twelve leagues from Panama, stretching fourteen leagues from N.W. by N. to S.E. by S. Though named Pearl Islands in the maps, I could never see any pearls about them. The northermost of these isles, called _Pachea_ or _Pacheque_, which is very small, is eleven or twelve leagues from Panama; the most southerly is called St Paul's Island, and the rest, though larger, have no names. Some of them are planted with bananas, plantains, and rice by negroes belonging to the inhabitants of Panama. The channel between these islands and the continent is seven or eight leagues broad, of a moderate depth, and has good anchorage all the way. These isles lie very close together, yet have channels between them fit for boats.

At one end of _St Paul's_ Island, there is a good careening place, in a deep channel inclosed by the land, into which the entrance is on the north side, where the tide rises ten feet. We brought our s.h.i.+ps in on the 25th, being spring tide, and having first cleaned our barks, we sent them on the 27th to cruise towards Panama. The fourth day after, they brought us in a prize coming from Lavelia, laden with maize or Indian corn, salted beef and fowls. _Lavelia_ is a large town on the bank of a river which runs into the north side of the bay of Panama, and is seven leagues from the sea; and _Nata_ is another town situated in a plain on a branch of the same river.[172] These two places supply Panama with beef, hogs, fowls, and maize. In the harbour where we careened, we found abundance of oysters, muscles, limpits, and clams, which last are a kind of oysters, which stick so close to the rocks that they must be opened where they grow, by those who would come at their meat. We also found here some pigeons and turtle-doves.

[Footnote 172: From the circ.u.mstances in the text Lavelia seems to be the town now named San Francisco, near the head of the river Salado, which runs into the gulf Parita, on the _west_ side of the bay of Panama.--E.]

Having well careened our s.h.i.+ps by the 14th February, and provided a stock of wood and water, we sailed on the 18th, and came to anchor in the great channel between the isles and the continent, in fifteen fathoms, on soft ooze, and cruised next day towards Panama, about which the sh.o.r.e seemed very beautiful, interspersed with a variety of hills and many small thickets. About a league from the continent there are several small isles, partly ornamented with scattered trees, and the _King's Isles_ on the opposite side of the channel give a delightful prospect, from their various shapes and situations. The 18th we went towards Panama, and anch.o.r.ed directly opposite Old Panama, once a place of note, but mostly laid in ashes by Sir Henry Morgan, and not since rebuilt. New Panama is about four leagues from the old town, near the side of a river, being a very handsome city, on a s.p.a.cious bay of the same name, into which many long navigable rivers discharge their waters, some of which have gold in their sands. The country about Panama affords a delightful prospect from the sea, having a great diversity of hills, vallies, groves, and plains. The houses are mostly of brick, and pretty lofty, some being handsomely built, especially that inhabited by the president; the churches, monasteries, and other public edifices, making the finest appearance of any place I have seen in the Spanish West Indies. It is fortified by a high stone wall, mounted by a considerable number of guns, which were formerly only on the land side, but have now been added to the side next the sea. The city has vast trade, being the staple or emporium for all goods to and from Peru and Chili; besides that, every three years, when the Spanish _armada_ comes to Porto Bello, the _Plate fleet_ comes here with the treasure belonging to the king and the merchants, whence it is carried on mules by land to Porto Bello, at which time, from the vast concourse of people, everything here is enormously dear.

The Spanish armada, which comes every three years to the West Indies, arrives first at Carthagena, whence an express is dispatched by land to the viceroy at Lima, and two packets are also sent by sea, one for Lima, and the other for Mexico, which last I suppose goes by way of _Vera Cruz_. That for Lima goes first by land to Panama, and thence by sea to Lima. After remaining sixty days at Carthagena, the armada sails to Porto Bello, where it only remains thirty days to take in the royal treasure brought here from Panama, said to amount to twenty-four millions of dollars, besides treasure and goods belonging to the merchants. From Porto Bello the armada weighs always on the thirtieth day, but the admiral will sometimes stay a week longer at the mouth of the river, to oblige the merchants. It then returns to Carthagena, where it meets the king's money from that part of the country, as also a large Spanish galleon or patache, which, on the first arrival of the armada at Carthagena, had been dispatched along the coast to collect the royal treasure. The armada, after a set stay at Carthagena, sails for the Havannah, where a small squadron called the _flota_ meets it from Vera Cruz, bringing the riches of Mexico, and the rich goods brought by the annual s.h.i.+p from Manilla. When all the s.h.i.+ps are joined, they sail for Spain through the gulf of Florida.

Porto Bello is a very unhealthy place, on which account the merchants of Lima stay there as short time as possible. Panama is seated in a much better air, enjoying the sea-breeze every day from ten or eleven in the forenoon till eight or nine at night, when the land-breeze begins, and blows till next morning. Besides, on the land side Panama has an open champaign country, and is seldom troubled with fogs; neither is the rainy season, which continues from May till November, nearly so excessive as at Porto Bello, though severe enough in June, July, and August, in which season the merchants of Peru, who are accustomed to a constant serene air, without rains or fogs, are obliged to cut off their hair, to preserve them from fevers during their stay.

The 21st February, near the Perico islands opposite to Panama, we took another prize from Lavelia, laden with beeves, hogs, fowls, and salt.

The 24th we went to the isle of Taboga, six leagues south of Panama.

This island is three miles long and two broad, being very rocky and steep all round, except on the north side, where the sh.o.r.e has an easy dope. In the middle of the isle the soil is black and rich, where abundance of plantains and bananas are produced, and near the sea there are cocoa and _mammee_ trees. These are large and straight in their stems, without knots, boughs, or branches, and sixty or seventy feet high. At the top there are many small branches set close together, bearing round fruit about the size of a large quince, covered with a grey rind, which is brittle before the fruit is ripe, but grows yellow when the fruit comes to maturity, and is then easily peeled off. The ripe fruit is also yellow, resembling a carrot in its flesh, and both smells and tastes well, having two rough flat kernels in the middle, about the size of large almonds. The S.W. side of this isle is covered with trees, affording abundant fuel, and the N. side has a fine stream of good water, which falls from the mountains into the sea. Near this there was formerly a pretty town with a handsome church, but it has been mostly destroyed by the privateers. There is good anchorage opposite this town a mile from the sh.o.r.e, in sixteen to eighteen fathoms on soft ooze. At the N.N.W. end is a small town called _Tabogilla_, and on the N.E. of this another small town or village without a name.

While at anchor near _Tabogilla_, we were in great danger from a pretended merchant, who brought a bark to us in the night, under pretence of being laden with merchandise to trade with us privately, but which was in reality a fire-s.h.i.+p fitted out for our destruction. But on her approach, some of our men hailed her to come to anchor, and even fired upon her, which so terrified the men that they got into their canoes, having first set her on fire, on which we cut our cables and got out of her way. This fire-s.h.i.+p was constructed and managed by one Bond, who formerly deserted from us to the Spaniards. While busied next morning in recovering our anchors, we discovered a whole fleet of canoes full of men, pa.s.sing between Tabogilla and another isle. These proved to be French and English buccaneers, lately come from the North Sea across the isthmus of Darien, 200 of them being French and 80 English. These last were divides between our two s.h.i.+ps, under Captains Davis and Swan; and the Frenchmen were put into our prize, named the Flower, under the command of Captain Gronet, their countryman, in return for which he offered commissions to Captains Davis and Swan, from the governor of Pet.i.te Goave, as it is the custom of the French privateers to carry with them blank commissions. Captain Davis accepted one, but Captain Swan had one already from the Duke of York.

Learning from these men that Captain Townley was coming across the isthmus of Darien with 180 Englishmen, we set sail on the 2d March for the gulf of _San Miguel_ to meet Townley. This gulf is on the east side of the great Bay of Panama, in lat. 8 15' N. long. 79 10' W. thirty leagues S.E. from Panama; from whence the pa.s.sage lies between Isola del Rey and the main. In this gulf many rivers discharge their waters. Its southern point is Cape _Carachina_, in lat. 8 6' N. and the northern, named Cape _Gardo_, is in lat. 8 18' N. The most noted rivers which discharge themselves into this gulf, are named _Santa Maria, Sambo_, and _Congo_. This last rises far within the country, and after being joined by many small streams on both sides of its course, falls into the north side of the gulf a league from Cape Gardo. It is deep and navigable for several leagues into the country, but not broad, and is neglected by the Spaniards owing to its nearness to the river of Santa Maria, where they have gold mines. _Santa Maria_ is the largest of the rivers in this gulf, being navigable for eight or nine leagues, as far as the tide flows, above which it divides into several branches fit only for canoes.

In this river the tide of flood rises eighteen feet. About the year 1665, the Spaniards built the town of Santa Maria, near six leagues up this river,[173] to be near the gold mines. I have been told, that, besides the gold usually procured out of the ore and sand, they sometimes find lumps wedged between the fissures of rocks as large as hens eggs or larger. One of these was got by Mr Harris, who got here 120 pounds weight of gold, and in his lump there were several crevices full of earth and dust.

[Footnote 173: In modern maps the river which seems to agree with this description of the Santa Maria, is called _Tlace_, one of the princ.i.p.al branches of which is named Chuchunque. The gold mines of Cana and Balsa are placed on some of its branches, on which likewise there are several towns, as Nisperal, Fichichi, Pungana, Praya, and Balsa.--E.]

The Spaniards employ their slaves to dig these mines in the dry season; but when the rivers overflow, as the mines cannot be then worked, the Indians wash the gold out of the sands that are forced down from the mountains, and which gold they sell to the Spaniards, who gain as much in that way as they do by their mines. During the wet season, the Spaniards retire with their slaves to Panama. Near the mouth of the Santa Maria, the Spaniards have lately built another town, called _Scuchadores_,[174] in a more airy situation than Santa Maria. The land all about the gulf of San Miguel is low and fertile, and is covered with great numbers of large trees.

[Footnote 174: This probably is that named Nisperal in modern geography, the appellation in the text being the Spanish name, and the other the name given by the Indians.--E.]

While crossing the isthmus, Gronet had seen Captain Townley and his crew at the town of Santa Maria, busied in making causes in which to embark on the South Sea, the town being at that time abandoned by the Spaniards; and on the 3d March, when we were steering for the gulf of San Miguel, we met Captain Townley and his crew in two barks which they had takes, one laden with brandy, wine, and sugar, and the other with flour. As he wanted room for his men, he distributed the jars among our s.h.i.+ps, in which the Spaniards transport their brandy, wine, and oil.

These jars hold seven or eight gallons each. Being now at anchor among the King's islands, but our water growing scarce, we sailed for Cape Carachina, in hopes of providing ourselves with that necessary article, and anch.o.r.ed within that cape, in four fathoms on the 22d. We here found the tide to rise nine feet, and the flood to set N.N.E. the ebb running S.S.W. The natives brought us some refreshments, but as they did not in the least understand Spanish, we supposed they had no intercourse with the Spaniards.

Finding no water here, we sailed for _Porto Pinas_, about fifty miles to the S. by W. in lat. 7 33' N. which is so named from the vast numbers of pine-trees which grow in its neighbourhood. The country here rises by a gentle ascent from the sea to a considerable height, and is pretty woody near the sh.o.r.e. At the entrance into the harbour there are two small rocks, which render the pa.s.sage narrow, and the harbour within is rather small, besides which it is exposed to the S.W. wind. We sent our boats into this harbour for water, which they could not procure, owing to a heavy sea near the sh.o.r.e; wherefore we again made sail for Cape Carachina, where we arrived on the 29th March. On our way we took a canoe, in which were four Indians and a Mulatto, and as the last was found to have been in the fire-s.h.i.+p sent against us, he was hanged.

On the 11th of April we anch.o.r.ed among the King's isles, where we met with Captain Harris, who had come with some men by way of the river of Santa Maria. The 19th, 250 men were sent in canoes to the river _Cheapo_, to surprise the town of that name. The 21st we followed them to the island of _Chepillo_, directly opposite the mouth of the river Chepo, or Cheapo, in the bay of Panama, about seven leagues from the city of Panama, and one league from the continent. This is a pleasant island, about two miles long, and as much in breadth, low on the north side, but rising by a gentle ascent to the south. The soil is very good, and produces in the low grounds great store of fine fruits, as plantains, mammees, sapotas, sapadillos, avogato pears, star-apples, and others. Half a mile from sh.o.r.e there is good anchorage, opposite to which is a very good spring of fresh-water near the sea.

The _Sapadillo_-tree is altogether like a pear-tree, and the fruit resembles a bergamot pear, but somewhat longer. When first gathered it is hard and the juice clammy; but after keeping a few days it becomes juicy and sweet. It has two or three black kernels, resembling pomegranate seeds. The _Avogato_-tree is higher than our pear-trees, having a black smooth bark, and oval leaves. The fruit is about the size of a large lemon, green at first, but becomes yellow when ripe, having a yellowish pulp as soft as b.u.t.ter. After being three or four days gathered, the rind comes easily off, and as the fruit is insipid it is commonly eaten with sugar and limejuice, being esteemed a great provocative by the Spaniards, who have therefore planted them in most of their settlements on the Atlantic. It has a stone within as large as a horse-plum. The _Sapota_-tree, or _Mammee-sapota_, is neither so large nor so tall as the wild mammae at Taboga, nor is the fruit so large or so round. The rind is smooth, and the pulp, which is pleasant and wholesome, is quite red, with a rough longish stone. There are also here some wild _mammee_-trees, which grow very tall and straight, and are fit for masts, but the fruit is not esteemed. The tree producing the _star-apples_ resembles our quince-tree, but is much larger, and has abundance of broad oval leaves. The fruit is as big as a large apple, and is reckoned very good, but I never tasted it.

The river _Chepo_, or _Cheapo_, rises in the mountains near the north side of the isthmus, being inclosed between a northern and southern range, between which it makes its way to the S.W. after which it describes nearly a semicircle, and runs gently into the sea about seven leagues E. from Panama, in lat. 9 3' N. long. 79 51' W. Its mouth is very deep, and a quarter of a mile broad, but is so obstructed at the entrance by sands as only to be navigable by barks. About six leagues from the sea stands the city of _Cheapo_, on the _left_ bunk of the river.[175] This place stands in a champaign country, affording a very pleasant prospect, as it has various hills in the neighbourhood covered with wood, though most of the adjacent lands are pasture-grounds to the north of the river, but the country south from the river is covered with wood for many miles.

[Footnote 175: In modern maps the town of Chepo is placed on the _right_ bank of the river, as descending the stream, and only about five miles up the river.--E.]

Our men returned from Cheapo on the 24th, having taken that town without opposition, but found nothing there worth mention. The 25th we were joined by Captain Harris, and arrived at Taboga on the 28th, when, finding ourselves nearly a thousand strong, we meditated an attack on Panama; but, being informed by our prisoners that the Spaniards there had received considerable reinforcements from Porto Bello, that design was laid aside. The 25th May we had intelligence from some prisoners that the Lima fleet was daily expected, whereupon we anch.o.r.ed in a narrow channel, a mile long and not above seven paces wide, formed by two or three small islands on the south side of the island of _Pacheque_. Our fleet now consisted of ten sail, only two of which were s.h.i.+ps of war, that commanded by Captain Davis having 36 guns and 156, while Captain Swan's carried 16 guns and 140 men. The rest were only provided with small arms, and our whole force amounted to 960 men. We had also a fire-s.h.i.+p.

Hitherto we had the wind at N.N.E. with fair weather, but on the 28th of May the rainy season began. On that day, about 11 a.m. it began to clear up, and we discovered the Spanish fleet three leagues W.N.W. from the island of Pacheque, standing to the east, we being then at anchor a league S.E. from that isle, between it and the continent. We set sail about three p.m. bearing down upon the Spaniards right before the wind, while they kept close upon a wind to meet us. Night coming on, we only exchanged a few shots at that time. As soon as it began to be dark, the Spanish admiral shewed a light at his top, as a signal for his fleet to anchor. In half an hour this was taken down; but soon after a light appeared as before, which went to leewards, which we followed under sail, supposing it to be still the admiral; but this was a stratagem of the Spaniards to deceive as, being at the top-mast head of one of their barks, and effectually succeeded, as we found in the morning they had gained the weather-gage of us. They now bore down upon us under full sail, so that we were forced to make a running fight all next day, almost quite round the bay of Panama, and came at length to anchor over against the island of Pacheque. As Captain Townley was hard pressed by the Spaniards, he was forced to make a bold run through the before-mentioned narrow channel, between Pacheque and the three small islands; and Captain Harris was obliged to separate from us during the fight. Thus our long-projected design vanished into smoke.

According to the report of some prisoners taken afterwards, the Spanish fleet consisted of fourteen sail, besides _periagoes_, or large boats of twelve or fourteen oars each, and among these there were eight s.h.i.+ps of good force, mounting from eight to forty-eight guns, with two fire-s.h.i.+ps, and computed to contain 3000 men. In the morning of the 30th we saw the Spanish fleet at anchor, three leagues from us to leeward, and by ten a.m. they were under sail with an easy gale from the S.

making the best of their way to Panama. In this affair we had but one man slain, but never knew the loss sustained by the Spaniards. Captain Gronet and his Frenchmen never joined us in this fight, laying the fault upon his men, wherefore he was ordered in a consultation to leave us; after which we resolved to sail for the islands of Quibo, or Cobaya, in quest of Captain Harris.

We sailed on the 1st June, 1685, with the wind at S.S.W. pa.s.sing between Cape Carachina and _Islas del Rey_. The 10th we came in sight of _Moro de Puercos_, a high round hill on the coast of Lavelia, in lat. 7 12'

N. round which the coast makes a turn northwards to the isles of Quibo.

On this part of the coast there are many rivers and creeks, but not near so large as those on the east side of the bay of Panama. Near the sea this western coast of the bay is partly hilly and partly low land, with many thick woods, but in the interior there are extensive savannahs or fruitful plains, well stored with cattle. Some of the rivers on this side produce gold, but not in such abundance as on the other side; and there are hardly any Spanish settlements on this side, except along the rivers leading to Lavelia and Nata, which are the only places I know of between Panama and _Pueblo nova_. From Panama there is good travelling all over Mexico, through savannahs or plains; but towards Peru there is no pa.s.sage by land beyond the river Chepo, by reason of thick woods and many rivers and mountains.

We arrived at the isle of _Quibo_ on the 15th June, where we found Captain Harris. This isle is in lat 7 26' N. and long. 82 13' W. It is near seven leagues long by four broad, being all low land, except at its N.E. end, on which side, and also to the east, there is excellent water.

It abounds in many kinds of trees, among which are great numbers of deer and black monkeys, the flesh of which is reckoned very wholesome; and it has some guanas and snakes. A sand-bank runs out half a mile into the sea from the S.E. end of this island, and on its east side, a league to the north of this, there is a rock a mile from the sh.o.r.e, which is seen above water at last quarter of the ebb. In all other places there is safe anchorage a quarter of a mile from the sh.o.r.e, in six, eight, ten, and twelve fathoms, on clean sand and ooze. The isle of _Quicarra_, to the south of Quibo, is pretty large; and to the north of it is a small isle named Ranchina, which produces great plenty of certain trees called _Palma-Maria_. These are straight, tough, and of good length, and are consequently fit for masts, the grain of the wood having a gradual twist or spiral direction; but, notwithstanding the name, they have no resemblance to palms. To the N.E. of Quibo are the small islands of _Ca.n.a.les_ and _Cantarras_, in the channels between which there is good anchorage. These islands have plenty of wood and water, and appear at a distance as if part of the continent; and as the island of Quibo is the most considerable, these isles are generally named collectively the Quibo islands.

Having failed in our designs at sea, it was agreed to try our fortune on land, and the city of Leon, near the coast of Nicaragua in Mexico, was pitched upon, as being nearest us. Being in want of canoes for landing our men, we cut down trees to make as many as we had occasion for, and in the mean time 150 men were detached to take _Puebla nova_, a town on the continent, near the Quibo island,[176] in hopes of getting some provisions. They easily took that town, but got nothing there except an empty bark, and returned to us on the 26th June. Captain Knight came back to us on the 5th July, having been farther to the west, but meeting with no prize, he had gone south to the bay of Guayaquil, where he took two _barco-longas_, with wine, oil, brandy, sugar, soap, and other commodities. Knight learnt from his prisoners that certain merchant s.h.i.+ps, designed to have accompanied the Spanish fleet to Panama, remained behind at Payta, which he might easily have taken if he had been provided with a stronger force.

[Footnote 176: The only place in modern geography resembling the name, and agreeing with the description in the text, is San Pablo on the S.

coast of Veragua, in lat. 8 9' N. and long. 83 W. from Greenwich.--E.]

Our canoes being all ready, we sailed from Quibo on the 20th July towards Realejo, a port a small way to the N.W. of Leon, being now 640 men, with eight s.h.i.+ps, three tenders, and a fire-s.h.i.+p. Coasting along to the N.W. we pa.s.sed the gulfs of Dulce and Nicoya, and the _Isla del Cano_, the land along the coast being low and covered with wood, but almost dest.i.tute of inhabitants. August 8th, in lat. 11 20' N. we got sight of _Volcano viejo_, or Old Volcano, the sea-mark for Realejo, bearing from us N.E. by N. when we made ready to land next day.

Accordingly, we sent 520 men on the 9th in thirty-one canoes to attack the harbour of Realejo. The weather was fair and the wind favourable till two p.m. when a tempest arose, attended by thunder and lightning, which almost overwhelmed us in the sea. It subsided, however, in half an h.o.a.r, as did the agitation of the waves; it being observable in these hot climates that the waves soon rise and soon fall. It became calm about seven p.m. but as we could not get ready to land that night before day, being then five leagues from sh.o.r.e, we remained nearly in the same place till next evening, that we might not be discovered.

About three next morning another tornado had nearly put an end to us and our enterprise, but it did not last long, and we entered the creek, on the S.E. side of the harbour, leading to Realejo in the night, but durst not proceed further till day-break. We then rowed deeper into the creek, which is very narrow, the land on both sides being very marshy and full of mangrove trees, through among which it is impossible to pa.s.s, and beyond these, where the ground is firm, the Spaniards had cast up a small entrenchment. We rowed as fast as we could and landed 470 men, the remainder, among whom I was, being left to guard the canoes.

The city of Leon stands twenty miles up the country in a sandy plain, near a peaked burning mountain, called _El Rico_, or the Volcano of Leon, the way to that city from where our people landed being through a champaign country covered with long gra.s.s. Between the landing place and the city were several sugar works, and about midway a beautiful river, but fordable. Two miles before coming to the city there was an Indian town, whence a pleasant sandy road led to the city. The houses in Leon were large and built of stone, but low and roofed with tiles, having many gardens among them, with a cathedral and three other churches. It stands in an extensive sandy plain or savannah, which absorbs all the rain, and being entirely free from wood, it has free access to the breezes on all sides. These circ.u.mstances render it a healthy and pleasant place, but not of much commerce, all the wealth of its inhabitants consisting in cattle and sugar works.

Our people began their march for Leon at eight a.m. the van consisting of eighty of the briskest men, being led by Captain Townly. He was followed by Captain Swan with 100 men, and Captain Davis, a.s.sisted by Captain Knight, brought up the rear with 170 men.[177] Captain Townley, being two miles in advance of the rest, and having repulsed a body of seventy horse about four miles short of Leon, pushed forwards with his vanguard, and entered the city without farther resistance at three p.m.

He was then opposed by 500 foot and 200 horse, first in a broad street, and afterwards in the great market-place; but the horse soon galloped off, and were followed by the foot, leaving the city to the mercy of our people. Captain Swan reached the city at four p.m. Davis about five, and Knight with the remainder at six. The Spaniards only killed one of our men, who was very old and had loitered behind, refusing to accept quarter, and took another named Smith. The governor sent word next day, offering to ransom the town; on which our officers demanded 30,000 pieces of eight, or Spanish dollars, together with provisions for 1000 men for four months, which terms being refused, our people set the city on fire on the 14th of August, and rejoined the canoes next morning.

Smith was exchanged for a gentlewoman, and a gentleman who had been made prisoner was released, on promise to deliver 150 oxen for his ransom at Realejo, the place we intended next to attack.

[Footnote 177: Only 350 men are here accounted for, though 470 are said to have marched on this enterprise, leaving a difference of 120 men: perhaps these made a separate corps under Knight, as he seems to have fallen considerably in the rear of Davis.--E.]

In the afternoon of the 16th we came to the harbour of Realejo in our canoes, our s.h.i.+ps having come there to anchor. The creek leading to Realejo extends north from the N.W. part of the harbour, being nearly two leagues from the island at the mouth of the harbour to the town. The first two-thirds of this distance the creek is broad, after which it closes into a deep narrow channel, lined on both sides by many cocoa-trees. A mile from the entrance the creek winds towards the west, and here the Spaniards had thrown up an entrenchment, fronting the entrance of the creek, and defended by 100 soldiers and twenty guns, having a boom of trees thrown across the creek, so that they might easily have beaten off 1000 men, but they wanted courage to defend their excellent post; for on our firing two guns they all ran away, leaving us at liberty to cut the boom. We then landed and marched to the town of Realejo, a fine borough about a mile from thence, seated in a plain on a small river. It had three churches and an hospital, but is seated among fens and marshes, which send forth a noisome scent, and render it very unhealthy. The country round has many sugar works and cattle pens, and great quant.i.ties of pitch, tar, and cordage are made by the people. It also abounds in melons, pine-apples, guavas, and p.r.i.c.kly pears.

The shrub which produces the _guava_ has long small boughs, with a white smooth bark, and leaves like our hazel. The fruit resembles a pear, with a thin rind, and has many hard seeds. It may be safely eaten while green, which is not the case with most other fruits in the East or West Indies. Before being ripe it is astringent, but is afterwards loosening.

When ripe it is soft, yellow, and well tasted, and may either be baked like pears, or coddled like apples. There are several sorts, distinguished by their shape, taste, and colour, some being red and others yellow in the pulp. The _p.r.i.c.kly-pear_ grows on a shrub about five feet high, and is common in many parts of the West Indies, thriving best on sandy grounds near the sea. Each branch has two or three round fleshy leaves, about the breadth of the hand, somewhat like those of the house-leek, edged all round with spines or sharp p.r.i.c.kles an inch long.

At the outer extremity of each leaf the fruit is produced, about the size of a large plum, small towards the leaf and thicker at the other end, where it opens like a medlar. The fruit, which is also covered by small p.r.i.c.kles, is green at first, but becomes red as it ripens, having a red pulp of the consistence of a thick syrup, with small black seeds, pleasant and cooling to the taste. I have often observed, on eating twenty or more of these at a time, that the urine becomes as red as blood, but without producing any evil consequence.

We found nothing of value in Realejo, except 500 sacks of flour, with some pitch, tar, and cordage. We also received here the 150 oxen promised by the gentleman who was released at Leon; which, together with sugar, and other cattle we procured in the country, were very welcome and useful to us. We remained in Realejo from the 17th to the 24th of August, when we re-embarked. On the 25th Captains Davis and Swan agreed to separate, the former being inclined to return to the coast of Peru, and the latter to proceed farther to the north-west; and as I was curious to become better acquainted with the north-western parts of Mexico, I left Captain Davis and joined Captain Swan. Captain Townley joined us with his two barks, but Captains Harris and Knight went along with Swan. On the 27th Davis went out of the harbour with his s.h.i.+p, but we staid behind for some time, to provide ourselves with wood and water.

By this time our men began to be much afflicted with fevers, which we attributed to the remains of a contagious distemper that lately raged at Realejo, as the men belonging to Captain Davis were similarly infected.

We sailed from Realejo on the 3d September, steering to the north-west along the coast, having tornadoes from the N.W. accompanied with much thunder and lightning, which obliged us to keep out to sea, so that we saw no land till the 14th, when we were in lat. 13 51' N. We then came in sight of the volcano of Guatimala. This presents a double peak like two sugar-loaves, between which fire and smoke sometimes burst forth, especially before bad weather. The city of Guatimala stands near the foot of this high mountain, eight leagues from the South Sea, and forty or fifty from the gulf of Amatique, at the bottom of the bay of Honduras.[178] This city is reputed to be rich, as the country around abounds in several commodities peculiar to it, especially four noted dyes, indigo, otta or anotto, cochineal, and silvestre.[179] Having in vain endeavoured to land on this part of the coast, we proceeded to the small isle of _Tangola_. a league from the continent, where we found good anchorage, with plenty of wood and water.

[Footnote 178: This description agrees with the situation of St Jago de Guatemala, in lat. 14 25' N. long. 31 18' W., which is about thirty statute miles from the South Sea. The modern city of Guatemala, standing nine miles to the S.E., is only about sixteen miles from the sea at the head of a bay of the same name.--E]

[Footnote 179: This last is an inferior species of cochineal, gathered from the uncultivated opuntia, while the true cochineal is carefully attended to in regular plantations. Both are the bodies of certain insects gathered by the Indians and dried for preservation, const.i.tuting the most valuable scarlet dye.--E]

A league from thence is the port of _Guataico_, in lat. 15 52' N. long.

36 20' W. one of the best in Mexico. On the east side of the entrance, and about a mile from it, there is a small isle near the sh.o.r.e, and on the west side a great hollow rock, open at top, through which the waves force a pa.s.sage with a great noise to a great height even in the calmest weather, which affords an excellent mark for seamen. This port runs into the land about three miles in a N.W. direction, and is about one mile broad. The west side affords the securest anchorage, the other being exposed to S.W. winds, which are frequent on this coast. We landed here to the number of 140 men, of whom I was one, on the 8th September, and marched about fourteen miles to an Indian village, where we found nothing but _vanillas_ drying in the sun. The _vanilla_ grows on a small vine, or bindwood shrub, which winds about the stems of trees, producing a yellow flower, which changes to a pod of four or five inches long, about the the size of a tobacco-pipe stem. This is at first green, but becomes yellow when ripe, having black seeds. When gathered they are laid in the sun, which makes them soft and of a chesnut colour, when they are squeezed flat by the Indians. The Spaniards buy this commodity at a cheap rate from the Indians, and afterwards preserve it in oil.

The 10th we sent four of our canoes to wait for us at the port of _Angelos_, about ten miles W. from Guataico, and on the 12th we sailed from Guataico. The 23d we landed 100 men at Angelos, where they got salt beef, maize, salt, hogs, and poultry but could bring little on board, being at a distance from the sh.o.r.e. Hearing of a stout s.h.i.+p lately arrived at Acapulco from Lima, and as Captain Townley was much in need of a better s.h.i.+p, it was agreed to endeavour to cut that s.h.i.+p out of the harbour. _Acapulco_ is a town and harbour in lat. 16 50' N. long. 99 44' W. on the western coast of New Spain, and belonging to the city of Mexico, being the only place of commerce on this coast, and yet there are only three s.h.i.+ps that come to it annually. Two of these go every year between this port and Manilla in Luconia, one of the Philippines, and the third goes once a year to and from Lima in Peru. This last comes to Acapulco about Christmas, laden with quicksilver, cacao, and dollars, and waits the arrival of the Manilla s.h.i.+ps, from which she takes in a cargo of spices, calicos, muslins, and other goods of India and China, and then returns to Lima. This is only a vessel of moderate size; but the two Manilla s.h.i.+ps are each of about 1000 tons burden.

These Manilla s.h.i.+ps arrange their voyages in such a way that one or the other is always at Manilla. One of them sails from Acapulco about the beginning of April; and after sixty days pa.s.sage across the Pacific Ocean, touches at Guam, one of the Ladrones, to procure refreshments.

She remains here only three days, and pursues her voyage for Manilla, where she arrives in the mouth of June. The other s.h.i.+p, being ready laden at Manilla with India commodities, sets sail soon after for Acapulco. From Manilla she steers a course to the lat.i.tude of 36 or 40 N. before she can fall in with a wind to carry her to America, and falls in first with the coast of California, and then is sure of a wind to carry her down the coast to Acapulco. After making Cape Lucas, the S.

point of California, she runs over to Cape _Corientes_, in lat. 20 26'

N. whence she proceeds along the coast to _Selagua_, where the pa.s.sengers for Mexico are landed, and then continues along the coast to Acapulco, where she usually arrives about Christmas.

This port of Acapulco is very safe and convenient, and of sufficient capacity to contain some hundred s.h.i.+ps without danger. There is a low island across the entrance, stretching from E. to W. about a mile and a half long by a mile in breadth, having a deep channel at each end, through either of which s.h.i.+ps may enter or go out, providing they go in with the sea-breeze, and out with the land-wind, which regularly blow at stated times of the day and night. The channel at the west end of the isle is narrow, but so deep as to have no anchorage, and through this the Manilla s.h.i.+p comes in; but the Lima s.h.i.+p takes the other channel.

The harbour runs eight miles into the land to the north, when it closes up and becomes narrow, after which it stretches a mile to the west. At the entrance of this channel, and on the N.W. side, close to the sh.o.r.e, stands the town of Acapulco, near which is a platform or battery with a good number of guns; and on the east side of the channel, opposite the town, there is a strong castle, having not less than forty pieces of large cannon, and the s.h.i.+ps usually ride at the bottom of the harbour, under the guns of this castle.