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

being then about four leagues from sh.o.r.e. On the first sight of it, they wore s.h.i.+p and stood to the southward; but their fore-sail splitting, and the wind being strong at W.S.W. they drove towards the sh.o.r.e. The captain, either unable to clear the land, or, as others say, resolved to keep the sea no longer, steered now for the coast, in order to look out for some shelter among the many islands which appeared in sight, and had the good fortune to bring the s.h.i.+p to anchor to the eastward of the island of _Inchin_[1]. But, as they did not run sufficiently near the east sh.o.r.e of that island, and had not hands enough to veer away the cable briskly, they were soon driven to the eastwards, deepening their water from twenty-five to thirty-five fathoms. Still continuing to drive, they next day, being the 17th May, let go their sheet anchor, which brought them up for a short time: but on the 18th they drove again, till they came into sixty-five fathoms; and, being now within a mile of the land, they expected every moment to be forced on sh.o.r.e in a place where the coast was so very high and steep, that there was not the smallest prospect of saving the s.h.i.+p and cargo. As their boats were very leaky, and there was no appearance of a landing place, the whole crew, consisting of sixteen men and boys, gave themselves up for lost, believing, if even any of them happened to get on sh.o.r.e by some extraordinary chance, that they would be almost certainly ma.s.sacred by the savages; as these people, knowing no other Europeans except Spaniards, might be expected to treat all strangers with the same cruelty which they have so often, and so signally, exercised against their Spanish neighbours.

[Footnote 1: The island of Inchin and the bay in which the Anna pink took shelter is in lat. 46 30' S. long. 74 30' in what is called the Peninsula de tres Montes, to the N. of the Golfo de Penas.--E.]

Under these terrifying circ.u.mstances, the Anna continued to drive towards the rocks which formed the sh.o.r.e; and at last, when expecting every instant to strike, they perceived a small opening in the land, which raised their hopes of safety. Wherefore, immediately cutting away their two anchors, they steered for this opening, which they found to be a narrow opening between an island and the main, which led them into a most excellent harbour; which, for its security against all winds and swells, and the consequent smoothness of its water, may perhaps vie with any in the known world: And this place being scarcely two miles from the spot where they deemed their destruction inevitable, the horrors of s.h.i.+pwreck and immediate death, with which they had been so long and strongly possessed, vanished almost in an instant, giving place to the most joyous ideas of security, refreshment, and repose.

In this harbour, discovered almost by miracle, the Anna came to anchor in twenty-five fathoms, with only a hawser and small anchor of about three hundred weight. Here she continued for near two months, and her people, who were many of them ill of the scurvy, were soon restored to perfect health by the fresh provisions, which they procured in abundance, and the excellent water which they found in plenty on the adjacent sh.o.r.e. As this place may prove of the greatest importance to future navigators forced upon this coast by the western winds, which are almost perpetual in that part of the world, it may be proper to give the best account that could be collected of this port, as to its situation, conveniences, and productions, before continuing the adventures of the Anna pink. To facilitate, also, the knowledge of this place, to such as may be desirous hereafter of using it, there is annexed a plan both of the harbour and the large bay before it, through which the Anna drifted. This plan, perhaps, may not be in all respects as accurate as could be wished, being composed from the memorandums and rude sketches of the master and surgeon, who were not the most able draughtsmen; but, as the princ.i.p.al parts were laid down by their estimates of their distances from each other, in which kind of computation seamen are commonly very dextrous, the errors are probably not very considerable.

The lat.i.tude, which certainly is a very material point, was not very accurately ascertained, as the Anna had no observation either on the day she got there, or within a day of leaving the bay; but is supposed to be not very distant from 45 30' S.[2] But the large extent of the bay, at the bottom of which the harbour is situated, renders this uncertainty of the less importance. The island lying before this bay, called _Inchin_ by the Indians, is supposed to be one of the islands named _Chonos_ by the Spanish accounts, and said to spread along all this coast,[3] being inhabited by a barbarous people, famous for their hatred to the Spaniards, and their cruelty to such of that nation as have fallen into their hands. It is even possible that the land in which this harbour is situated may be one of these islands, while the continent may be considerably to the eastward. This harbour, besides its depth of water and complete shelter, has two coves, where s.h.i.+ps may very conveniently be hove down, as the water is constantly smooth.

There are also several fine runs of excellent fresh water, which fall into the harbour, some so conveniently situated that the casks may be filled in the long-boat by means of a hose. The most remarkable of these is a stream in the N.E. part of the harbour, being a fresh-water river, where the crew of the Anna caught a few mullets of excellent flavour, and they were persuaded that it would be found to have plenty of fish in the proper season, it being winter when they were there.

[Footnote 2: This has already, on the authority of Arrowsmith, been stated at 46 30' S.]

[Footnote 3: The gulf and archipelago of Chonos, or Guaytecas, one of the islands of which is Socora, or Guayteca, is considerably to the N. of Inchin, between the peninsula de tres Montes and the island of Chiloe, the centre of that archipelago being in lat. 45 S.--E.]

The princ.i.p.al refreshments of green vegetables met with at this port were wild cellery, nettle-tops, and the like, which, after so long a continuance at sea, were highly acceptable. We got abundance of sh.e.l.l-fish, as c.o.c.kles and muscles of great size and delicious flavour, with plenty of geese, s.h.a.gs, and penguins. Though in the depth of winter the climate was by no means extremely rigorous, neither were the trees or the face of the country dest.i.tute of verdure; whence it may be concluded, that many other kinds of fresh provisions would doubtless be found there in summer. Notwithstanding the relations of the Spaniards respecting the violence and barbarity of the inhabitants, it does not appear that their numbers are sufficient to excite any apprehensions in the crew of a s.h.i.+p of any size, or that their dispositions are by any means so mischievous or merciless as has been represented. With all these advantages, this place is so far from the frontiers of the Spanish settlements, and so little known to the Spaniards themselves, that, with proper precautions, there is reason to believe a s.h.i.+p might remain here a long time undiscovered. It is also capable of being made a very defensible port; as, by possessing the island that closes tip the port or inner harbour, which island is only accessible in a very few places, a small force might easily secure this port against all the force which the Spaniards could muster in that part of the world. For this island is so steep towards the harbour, having six fathoms close to the sh.o.r.e, that the Anna anch.o.r.ed within forty yards of its coast; whence it is obvious how difficult it would prove, either to board or cut out any vessel protected by a force posted on sh.o.r.e within pistol-shot, and where those thus posted could not be themselves attacked. All these circ.u.mstances seem to render this port worthy of a more accurate examination; and it is to be hoped that this rude attempt to suggest, may hereafter recommend it to the consideration of the public, and the attention of those who are more immediately entrusted with the conduct of our naval affairs.

After this account of the place where the Anna lay for two months, it may be expected that I should relate the discoveries made by her crew upon the adjacent coast, and the princ.i.p.al incidents that occurred during their stay here. But, as they were only a few in number, they durst not venture to detach any of their people on distant searches, being under continual apprehensions of being attacked either by the Spaniards or Indians, so that their excursions were generally confined to the tract of land surrounding the port, where they were never out of view of the s.h.i.+p: Even if they had known from the first how little grounds there were for these fears, yet the neighbouring country was so overgrown with wood, and so traversed by mountains, that it appeared impracticable to penetrate to any distance, so that no account of the interior could be expected. They were, however, in a condition to disprove the relations given by Spanish writers, who have represented this coast as inhabited by a fierce and powerful people, as no such inhabitants were to be found, at least in the winter season; for, during the whole time of their continuance here, they never saw any more than one small Indian family, which came into the harbour in a periagua, or canoe, about a month after the arrival of the Anna, and consisted only of one Indian man, near forty years of age, his wife, and two children, one about three years of age, and the other still on the breast. They seemed to have with them all their property, consisting of a dog and cat, a fis.h.i.+ng net, a hatchet, a knife, a cradle, some bark of trees, intended for covering a hut, a reel with some worsted, a flint and steel, and a few roots of a yellow hue, and very disagreeable taste, which served them for bread.

As soon as these were perceived, the master of the Anna sent his yawl and brought them on board; and, lest they might discover him to the Spaniards if permitted to go away, he took proper precautions, as he conceived, for securing them, but without violence or ill usage, as they were permitted to go about the s.h.i.+p where they pleased in the day time, but were locked up in the forecastle at night. As they were fed in the same manner with the crew, and were often indulged with brandy, which they seemed greatly to relish, it did not appear at first that they were much dissatisfied with their situation. The master took the Indian on sh.o.r.e when he went to shoot, and he seemed always much delighted on seeing the game killed. The crew also treated them with great humanity; but it was soon apparent, though the woman continued easy and cheerful, that the man grew pensive and discontented at his confinement. He seemed to have good natural parts, and though utterly unable to converse with our people otherwise than by signs, was yet very curious and inquisitive, and showed great dexterity in his manner of making himself understood. Seeing so few people on board so large a s.h.i.+p, he seemed to express his opinion that they had once been more numerous, and, by way of representing what he imagined had become of their companions, he laid himself on the deck, closing his eyes, and stretching himself out motionless, as if to imitate the appearance of a dead body.

The strongest proof of his sagacity was the manner of his getting away. After having been on board the Anna for eight days, the scuttle of the forecastle, where he and his family were locked up every night, happened to be left unnailed, and on the following night, which was extremely dark and stormy, he contrived to convey his wife and children through the scuttle, and then over the s.h.i.+p's side into the yawl, and immediately rowed on sh.o.r.e, using the precaution to cut away the long-boat and his own periagua, which were towing astern, to prevent being pursued. He conducted all this with so much silence and secrecy, that, though there was a watch on the quarter-deck with loaded arms, he was not discovered by them till the noise of his oars in the water gave notice of his escape, after he had put off from the s.h.i.+p, when it was too late either to prevent or pursue him. Besides, as their boats were all adrift, it was some time before they could contrive the means of getting on sh.o.r.e to search for their boats. By this effort, besides regaining his liberty, the Indian was in some measure revenged on those who had confined him, both by the perplexity they were in for the loss of their boats, and by the terror occasioned by his departure; for, on the first alarm of the watch, who cried, "The Indians," the whole crew were in the utmost confusion, believing that the s.h.i.+p had been boarded by a whole fleet of armed canoes.

Had the resolution and sagacity with which this Indian behaved on this occasion, been exerted on a more extensive object, it might have immortalized the exploit, and given him a rank among the ill.u.s.trious names of antiquity. The people of the Anna, indeed, allowed that it was a most gallant enterprise, and were grieved at having thus been under the necessity, from attention to their own safety, to abridge the liberty of one who had now given so distinguished a proof of courage and prudence. As he was supposed still to continue in the woods near the port, where he might suffer for want of provisions, they easily prevailed on the master to leave a quant.i.ty of such food as they thought would be most agreeable to him in a place where he was likely to find it, and there was reason to believe this was not altogether without its use, for, on visiting the place afterwards, the provisions were gone, and in a manner that made them conclude they had fallen into his hands.

Although many of the crew of the Anna believed that this Indian still continued in the neighbourhood, there were some who strongly suspected he might have gone off to the island of Chiloe, where they feared he would alarm the Spaniards, and would soon return with a force sufficient to surprise or overpower the Anna. The master was therefore prevailed upon to discontinue firing the evening gun, and there is a particular reason for attending to this circ.u.mstance, to be explained hereafter; for he had hitherto, from an ostentatious imitation of the men-of-war, fired a gun every evening at setting the night watch.

This, as he pretended, was to awe the enemy, if there were any within hearing, and to convince them that his s.h.i.+p was always on her guard. The crew being now well refreshed, and their wood and water sufficiently replenished, he put to sea a few days after the escape of the Indian, and had a fortunate pa.s.sage to the rendezvous at Juan Fernandez, where he arrived on the 16th of August, as already mentioned.

The remaining s.h.i.+ps of the squadron, none of which rejoined the commodore, were the Severn, Pearl, and Wager, of the fate of which it may be proper to make mention. The Severn and Pearl parted company from the commodore off Cape Voir; and, as we afterwards learnt, put back to Brazil. The Wager had on board a few field-pieces, and some coehorn-mortars, mounted for land service, with several kinds of artillery stores and pioneers tools, intended for operations on sh.o.r.e.

And, as an enterprise had been planned against Baldivia, for the first operation of the squadron, Captain Cheap was extremely solicitous that these articles might be forthcoming, and determined to use his endeavours for that purpose, that no delay or disappointment might be imputed to him, not knowing the state the squadron was reduced to. While making the best of his way, with these views, to the first appointed rendezvous, off Socoro, whence he proposed to proceed for Baldivia, the Wager made the land on the 14th of May, about the lat.i.tude of 47 S. and while Captain Cheap was exerting himself in order to get clear of the land, he had the misfortune to fall down the after-ladder, by which he dislocated his shoulder, and was rendered incapable of acting. This accident, together with the crazy condition of the s.h.i.+p, which was little better than a wreck, prevented her from getting off to sea, and entangled her more and more with the land; insomuch, that at day-break next morning, the 15th May, she struck on a sunken rock, and soon afterwards bilged, and grounded between two small islands, about musket-shot from the sh.o.r.e.

In this situation the s.h.i.+p continued entire a long time, so that all the crew might have got safe on sh.o.r.e. But a general confusion ensued; many of them, instead of consulting their safety, or reflecting on their calamitous condition, fell to pillaging the s.h.i.+p, arming themselves with the first weapons that came to hand, and threatening to murder all who should oppose their proceedings. This frenzy was greatly heightened by the liquors they found on board, with which they made themselves so excessively intoxicated, that some fell down into the hold, where they were drowned, as the water flowed into the wreck.

Having done his utmost, ineffectually, to get the whole crew on sh.o.r.e, the captain was at last obliged to leave the mutineers behind, and to follow his officers on sh.o.r.e, with such few men as he could prevail upon to accompany him; but did not fail to send back the boats, with a message to those who remained, entreating them to have some regard to their own preservation. All his efforts, however, were for some time in vain; but next day, the weather proving stormy, and there being great danger of the s.h.i.+p going to pieces, the refractory part of the crew began to be afraid of peris.h.i.+ng, and were desirous of getting to land; and, in their madness, as the boat did not come to fetch them off so soon as they wished, they pointed a four-pounder from the quarter-deck, against the hut in which the captain resided on sh.o.r.e, and fired two shots, which pa.s.sed just over its roof.

From this specimen of the behaviour of part of the crew, some idea may be formed of the disorder and anarchy which prevailed when they at length got all on sh.o.r.e. For the men conceived that the authority of their officers was at an end, in consequence of the loss of the s.h.i.+p; and, as they were now upon an inhospitable coast, where scarcely any other provisions could be got beyond what could be saved from the wreck, this was another insurmountable source of discord: for the working upon the wreck, and securing the provisions on sh.o.r.e, so that they might be preserved as much as possible for future exigencies, and that they might be sparingly and equally distributed for present subsistence, were matters, however important, that could not be brought about unless by means of discipline and subordination. At the same time, the mutinous disposition of the people, stimulated by the immediate impulses of hunger, rendered every regulation attempted for these indispensable purposes, quite unavailing; so that there were continual frauds, concealments, and thefts, which animated every one against his neighbour, and produced infinite contentions and perpetual quarrels. Hence a perverse and malevolent disposition was constantly kept up among them, which rendered them utterly ungovernable.

Besides these heart-burnings, occasioned by petulance and hunger, there was another important point which set the greatest part of the people at variance with the captain. This was their difference in opinion from him, on the measures proper to be pursued on the present emergency; for the captain was determined, if possible, to fit out the boats in the best manner he could, and to proceed with them to the northward, as, having above two hundred men in health, and having saved some fire-arms and ammunition from the wreck, he had no doubt of being able to master any Spanish, vessel they might fall in with in these seas, and he thought that he could not fail of meeting with one in the neighbourhood of Chiloe or Baldivia, in which, when taken, he proposed to proceed to the rendezvous at Juan Fernandez. He also insisted, should they even meet with no prize by the way, that the boats alone could easily carry them to Juan Fernandez. But this scheme, however prudent and practicable, was by no means relished by the generality of the people; for, quite jaded and disgusted with the fatigues, dangers, and distresses they had already encountered, they could not be persuaded to prosecute an enterprize which had hitherto proved so disastrous. The common resolution, therefore, was to lengthen the long-boat, and, with her and the other boats, to steer to the southwards, to pa.s.s through the Straits of Magellan, and to range along the eastern coast of South America, till they came to Brazil, where they had no doubt of being well received, and procuring a pa.s.sage to Britain.

This project was evidently a vast deal more tedious, and infinitely more hazardous, than that proposed by the captain; but, as it had the air of returning home, and flattered them with the hope of getting once more to their native country, that circ.u.mstance rendered them blind to all its inconveniences, and made them adhere to it with insurmountable obstinacy. The captain was therefore obliged to give way to the torrent, though he never changed his opinion, and had, in appearance, to acquiesce in this resolution, though he gave it all the obstruction he could, particularly in regard to lengthening the long-boat, which he contrived should be of such a size, as, though it might carry them to Juan Fernandez, he yet hoped might appear incapable of so long a navigation as that to the coast of Brazil.

But the captain, by his steady opposition at first to this favourite project, had much embittered the people against him, to which, also, the following unhappy accident greatly contributed.

A mids.h.i.+pman, named Cozens, had appeared the foremost in all the refractory proceedings of the crew, had involved himself in brawls with most of the officers who had adhered to the authority of the captain, and had even treated the captain himself with much insolence and abuse. As his turbulence and brutality grew every day more and more intolerable, it was not in the least doubted that some violent measures were in agitation, in which Cozens was engaged as the ringleader; for which reason the captain, and those about him, constantly kept themselves on their guard. One day the purser having stopped, by order of the captain, the allowance of a fellow who would not work, Cozens, though the man had not complained to him, intermeddled in the affair with great bitterness, and grossly insulted the purser, who was then delivering out the provisions close by the captain's tent, and was himself sufficiently violent. Enraged by his scurrility, and perhaps piqued by former quarrels, the purser cried out, _A mutiny_; adding, _the dog has pistols_, and then immediately fired himself a pistol at Cozens, but missed him. On hearing this outcry, and the report of the pistol, the captain rushed out from his tent, and not doubting that it had been fired by Cozens as the commencement of a mutiny, immediately shot him in the head without farther enquiry. Though he did not die on the spot, the wound proved mortal in about a fortnight.

Though this accident was sufficiently displeasing to the people, it yet awed them for a considerable time to their duty, and rendered them more submissive to the authority of the captain. But at last, towards the middle of October, when, the long-boat was finished, and they were preparing to put to sea, the additional provocation given them, by covertly traversing their project of proceeding through the Straits of Magellan, and their fears that he might at length engage a sufficient party to overturn this favourite measure, made them resolve to take advantage of the death of Cozens as a reason for depriving him of his command, under pretence of carrying him a prisoner to England to be tried for murder, and he was accordingly confined under a guard. Yet they never meant to carry him with them, as they too well knew what they might expect on their return to England, if their commander should be present to confront them; and therefore, when just ready to depart, they set him at liberty, leaving him, and the few who chose to take their fortunes along with him, no other embarkation but the yawl, to which the barge was afterwards added, by the people on board her being prevailed upon to turn back.

When the s.h.i.+p was wrecked, there were about one hundred and thirty persons alive on board; above thirty of whom died on the place where they landed, and nearly eight went off in the long-boat and cutter to the southward; after whose departure, there remained no more than nineteen persons along with the captain, which were as many, however, as the barge and yawl could well carry, these being the only embarkations left them. It was on the 13th of October, five months after the s.h.i.+pwreck, that the long-boat, converted into a schooner, weighed and sailed to the southwards, giving three cheers at their departure to the captain and Lieutenant Hamilton of the land-forces, and the surgeon, who were then standing on the beach. On the 29th of January, 1742, they arrived at Rio Grande, on the coast of Brazil; but having, by various accidents, left about twenty of their people on sh.o.r.e at the different places where they touched, and a still greater number having perished of famine in the course of their navigation, there were not more than thirty of them remaining, when they arrived at that port. This undertaking was certainly most extraordinary in itself; for, not to mention the great length of the voyage, the vessel was scarcely able to contain the number that first put to sea in her; and their stock of provisions, being only what they saved from the s.h.i.+p, diminished by five months expenditure on sh.o.r.e, was extremely slender. They had also this additional misfortune, that the cutter, the only boat they had along with them, broke loose from their stern, and was staved to pieces, so that, when their provisions and water failed, they had frequently no means of getting on sh.o.r.e in search of a supply.

The captain and those who remained with him, now proposed to proceed to the northward in the barge and yawl; but the weather was so bad, and the difficulty of subsisting so great, that it was two months after the departure of the long boat, before they were able to put to sea. It seems that the place where the Wager was lost, was not a part of the continent, but an island at some distance from the main, affording no other sort of provisions besides sh.e.l.l-fish, and a few herbs; and, as the greatest part of what they had saved out of the wreck had been carried off in the long-boat, the captain and his people were often in extreme want of food, especially as they chose to preserve what little remained to them of the s.h.i.+p's provisions, to serve them as sea-store, when they should proceed to the northward.

During their residence at this place, which was called Wager Island by the seamen, they were now and then visited by a straggling canoe or two of Indians, who came and bartered their fish and other provisions with our people. This was some little relief to their necessities, and might perhaps have been greater at another season; for there were several Indian huts on the sh.o.r.e, whence it was supposed that, in some years, many of these savages might resort thither in the height of summer, to catch fish. Indeed, from what has been related in the account of the Anna pink, it would seem to be the general practice of these Indians, to frequent this coast in the summer season, for the purpose of fis.h.i.+ng, and to retire more to the northwards in winter, into a better climate.

It is worthy of remark, how much it is to be lamented that the people of the Wager had no knowledge of the Anna pink being so near them on the coast;[4] for, as she was not above thirty leagues from them at the most, and came into that neighbourhood about the same time that the Wager was lost, and was a fine roomy s.h.i.+p, she could easily have taken them all on board, and have carried them to Juan Fernandez.

Indeed, I suspect that she was still nearer them than is here estimated; for, at different times, several of the people belonging to the Wager heard the report of a cannon, which could be no other than the evening gun fired by the Anna, as formerly mentioned, more especially as the gun heard at Wager Island was at that time of the day.

[Footnote 4: Inchin island, where the Anna pink lay, has been formerly stated to be in lat. 46 30' S. the supposed lat.i.tude in which the Wager was lost, stated in the text at 47 S. is only _ten_ marine leagues to the southward, instead of _thirty_, and must therefore have been on some one of the islands toward the southern coast of the peninsula de Tres Montes, on the north of the Golfo de Penas.--E.]

Captain Cheap and his people embarked in the barge and yawl, on the 14th of December, in order to proceed to the northward, taking on board along with them all the provisions they could gather from the wreck of the s.h.i.+p; but they had scarcely been an hour at sea, when the wind began to blow hard, and the sea to run so high, that they were obliged to throw the greatest part of their provisions overboard, to avoid immediate destruction. This was a terrible misfortune, in a part of the world where food was so difficult to be got; yet they persisted in their design, going on sh.o.r.e as often as they could, in search of subsistence. About a fortnight after their departure from Wager island, another dreadful accident befel them, as the yawl sunk at an anchor, and one of her hands was drowned; and, as the barge was incapable of carrying the whole company, they were reduced to the hard necessity of leaving four marines behind them, on that desolate coast. They still, however, kept their course to the northward; though greatly delayed by cross winds, and by the frequent interruptions occasioned by the necessity of searching for food on sh.o.r.e, and constantly struggling with a series of the most sinister events. At length, about the end of January, 1742, having made three unsuccessful attempts to double a head-land, which they supposed to be that called Cape _Tres Montes_ by the Spaniards, and finding the difficulty insurmountable, they unanimously resolved to return to Wager Island, which they effected about the middle of February, quite disheartened and desponding, through their reiterated disappointments, and almost peris.h.i.+ng with hunger and fatigue.

On their return, they had the good fortune to fall in with several pieces of beef, swimming in the sea, which had been washed out of the wreck, which afforded them a most seasonable relief, after the hards.h.i.+ps they had endured. To complete their good fortune, there came shortly afterwards to the place two canoes with Indians, among whom there happened to be a native of Chiloe, who spoke a little Spanish.

The surgeon who accompanied Captain Cheap understood that language, and made a bargain with the Chiloe Indian, that, if he would carry the captain and his people in the barge to Chiloe, he should have her and all her furniture for his reward. Accordingly, on the 6th of March, the eleven persons, to which the company was now reduced, embarked again in the barge on this new expedition. After having proceeded a few days, the captain and four of his princ.i.p.al officers being on sh.o.r.e, the six, who remained in the barge along with an Indian, shoved her off and put to sea, and never returned again.

Captain Cheap, together with Mr Hamilton, lieutenant of marines, the honourable Mr Byron and Mr Campbell, mids.h.i.+pmen, and Mr Elliot, the surgeon, were thus left on sh.o.r.e in the most deplorable situation imaginable. It might be thought that their distresses, long before this time, were hardly capable of being increased: Yet they found their present situation much more dismaying than any thing they had hitherto experienced; being left on a desert coast, far from the haunts of men, without provisions, or the means of procuring any, and with no visible prospect of relief; for their arms and ammunition, and every convenience that had hitherto remained to them, except the few tattered garments they had on, were all carried away in the barge.

While revolving the various circ.u.mstances of this new and unlooked-for calamity, and sadly persuaded that they had no possible relief to hope for, they perceived a canoe at a distance, which proved to be that belonging to the Indian of Chiloe, who had undertaken to convey them to that island. He it seems had left Captain Cheap and his people, only a little before, to go a fis.h.i.+ng in his canoe, accompanied by his family, leaving the barge in the mean time under the care of the other Indian, whom the sailors had carried with them to sea. When he came on sh.o.r.e, and found the barge and his companion gone, he was much concerned, and was with difficulty persuaded that his companion had not been murdered; yet, being at last satisfied with the account that was given him by Mr Elliot, he still undertook to carry them to the Spanish settlements, and, being well skilled in fis.h.i.+ng and fowling, he undertook also to provide them in provisions by the way.

About the middle of March, Captain Cheap and his four remaining companions set out for Chiloe; their Indian conductor having provided several canoes, and gathered many of his countrymen together for that purpose. Mr Elliot, the surgeon, soon afterwards died, so that there now only remained four of the whole company. At last, after a very complicated pa.s.sage, partly by sea and partly by land, Captain Cheap, Mr Byron, and Mr Campbell, arrived at the island of Chiloe, where they were received by the Spaniards with great humanity; but, on account of some quarrel among the Indians, Mr Hamilton did not get there till two months later. It was thus above a twelvemonth, from the loss of the Wager, before this fatiguing peregrination terminated. The four who now remained were brought so extremely low, by their fatigues and privations, that in all probability none of them would have survived, had their distresses continued only a few days longer. The captain was with difficulty recovered; and the rest were so reduced by labour, the severity of the weather, scantiness of food, and want of all kinds of necessaries, that it was wonderful how they had supported themselves so long.

After some stay at Chiloe, the captain and the other three who were with him, were sent to Valparaiso, and thence to St Jago, the capital of Chili, where they continued above a year, and where they were joined by Mr Hamilton. News arriving that a cartel had been settled between Great Britain and Spain, Captain Cheap, Mr Byron, and Mr Hamilton, were permitted to return to Europe in a French s.h.i.+p. Mr Campbell, the other mids.h.i.+pman, having changed his religion while at St Jago, chose to go from thence to Buenos Ayres along with Pizarro and his officers, overland, and went with them afterwards to Spain in the Asia: But failing in his endeavours to procure a commission from the court of Spain, he returned to England, and attempted in vain to get reinstated in the British navy. He has since published a narration of his adventures in which he complains of the injustice that has been done him and strongly disavows having ever been in the Spanish service: but, as the change of his religion and his offering himself to the court of Spain, though he was not accepted, are matters which he must be conscious can be incontestably proved, he has been entirely silent on these two heads.[5]

[Footnote 5: The circ.u.mstances connected with the loss of the Wager, and of the separation of the Severn and the Pearl, will be given more at large, by way of supplement to the circ.u.mnavigation. The incidents which occur to bold and unfortunate navigators are certainly curious and interesting; but the author of Anson's Voyage seems to have forgotten, that the circ.u.mstances respecting the countries they visited, especially such of these which are so little known, are of infinitely greater utility.--E.]

SECTION XIV.

_Conclusion of Proceedings at Juan Fernandez, from the Arrival of the Anna Pink, to our final Departure from thence._

About a week after the arrival of the Anna pink, the Tryal sloop, which had been sent to examine the island of Masefuero, returned to an anchor at Juan Fernandez, having gone entirely round that island, without seeing any one of our squadron. As, on this occasion, the island of Masefuero was more particularly examined, I have no doubt, than it had ever been before, or perhaps ever may be again, and as the knowledge of it may be of great consequence hereafter, under peculiar circ.u.mstances, I think it inc.u.mbent to insert the accounts given of it by the officers of the Tryal.

The Spaniards have generally mentioned two islands, under the same of Juan Fernandez, naming them the greater and the less;[1] the greater being that island, where we anch.o.r.ed, and the less that we are now about to describe; which, because it is more distant from the continent, they call Masefuero. The Tryal found that it bore from the greater Juan Fernandez, W. by S. about twenty-two leagues distant.

It is much larger and better than has been usually represented, being reported by former writers as a small barren rock, dest.i.tute of wood and water, and altogether inaccessible. Whereas our people found that it was covered with trees, and that there were several fine falls of water pouring down its sides into the sea. They found, also, that there is a place on its north side, where a s.h.i.+p might come to an anchor, though indeed the anchorage be inconvenient; for the bank is steep, and extends only a little way, and has very deep water, so that she must anchor very near the sh.o.r.e, and be there exposed to all winds, except those from the southward. Besides the inconvenience of the anchorage, there is also a reef of rocks, about two miles in length, running off the eastern point of the island, though these are little to be feared, because always to be seen, by the sea breaking over them. This island has at present one advantage beyond Juan Fernandez, as it abounds in goats; and as these are not accustomed to be disturbed, they were no way shy till they had been frequently fired at. These animals reside here in great tranquillity, as the Spaniards, not thinking this island sufficiently considerable to be frequented by their enemies, have not been solicitous to destroy the provisions it contains, so that no dogs have hitherto been put on sh.o.r.e there.

Besides goats, the people of the Tryal found there vast numbers of seals and sea lions; and upon the whole, though they did not consider it as the most eligible place for s.h.i.+ps to refresh at, yet, in case of necessity, it might afford some sort of shelter, and prove of considerable use, especially to a single s.h.i.+p, apprehensive of meeting an enemy at Juan Fernandez.

[Footnote 1: They also distinguish the greater by the name of Isla de Tierra, as being nearer the main land of Chili. There is yet a third and smallest island, a little way from the S.W. extremity of the largest, called J. de Cabras or Conejos, Goat or Rabbit island.--E.]

The latter end of the month of December was spent in unloading the provisions from the Anna pink; when we had the mortification to find, that great quant.i.ties of our provisions, as bread, rice, groats, &c.

were decayed and unfit for use. This had been occasioned by the Anna taking in water, by her working and straining in bad weather; owing to which several of her casks had rotted, and many of her bags were soaked through. Having now no farther occasion for her services, the commodore, pursuant to his orders from the admiralty, sent notice to her master, Mr Gerard, that he now discharged the Anna pink from attending the squadron, and gave him a certificate at the same time, specifying how long she had been employed. In consequence of this dismission, her master was left at liberty, either to return directly to England, or to make the best of his way to any port where he thought he could take in such a cargo as might serve the interest of his owners. But, sensible of the bad condition of his s.h.i.+p, and her unfitness for any such voyage, the master wrote next day to the commodore, stating, that he had reason to apprehend the bottom of the Anna to be very much decayed, from the great quant.i.ty of water she had let in on her pa.s.sage round Cape Horn, and ever since, in the tempestuous weather she had experienced on the coast of Patagonia; that her upper decks were rotten abaft; that she was extremely leaky; that her fore-beam was broken; and, in short, that, in his opinion, it was impossible to proceed with her to sea, unless she were thoroughly repaired. He therefore requested of the commodore, that the carpenters of the squadron might be directed to survey her, so that their judgment of her condition might be known. In compliance with this request, the carpenters were ordered to make a careful and accurate survey of the Anna, and to give in a faithful report to the commodore of her condition; directing them to proceed with such circ.u.mspection, that they might be able, if hereafter called upon, to confirm the veracity of their report upon oath. Pursuant to these orders, the carpenters immediately set about the examination, and made their report next day. This was in substance, That the Anna had no less than fourteen knees and twelve beams broken, and decayed; one breast-hook broken, and another decayed; her water-ways open and decayed; two standards and several clamps broken, besides others much rotten; all her iron-work greatly decayed; her spirkiting and timbers very rotten; that, having ripped off part of her sheathing, her wales and outside planks were extremely defective; and her bows and decks were very leaky. From all these defects and decays, they certified that, in their opinion, the vessel could not depart from Juan Fernandez, without great hazard, unless previously thoroughly repaired.

In our present situation, this thorough repair was impracticable, all the plank and iron in the squadron being insufficient for that purpose. Wherefore, the opinion of the master being confirmed by this report, he presented a pet.i.tion to the commodore, in behalf of his owners, praying, as his vessel was incapable of leaving the island, that her hull, materials, and furniture, might be purchased for the use of the squadron. The commodore, therefore, ordered an inventory to be taken of every thing belonging to the pink, with its just value; and as many of her stores might become useful in repairing the other s.h.i.+p, these articles having become very scarce, in consequence of the great quant.i.ties already expended, he agreed with Mr Gerard to purchase the whole for 300. The pink was now broken up, Mr Gerard and her hands being sent on board the Gloucester, as that s.h.i.+p had buried the greatest number of men in proportion to her complement. Two or three of them were afterwards received into the Centurion on their pet.i.tion, as they were averse from sailing in the same s.h.i.+p with their old master, on account of some ill usage they alledged to have suffered from him.

This transaction brought us down to the beginning of September, by which time our people were so far recovered from the scurvy, that there was little danger of burying any more for the present. I shall therefore now sum up the whole of our loss since our departure from England, the better to convey some idea of our past sufferings and our then remaining strength. In the Centurion, since leaving St Helens, we had buried 292 men, and had 214 remaining. This will doubtless appear a most extraordinary mortality, yet that in the Gloucester had been much greater; as, out of a much smaller crew than ours, she had lost the same number, and had only 82 remaining alive. It might have been expected that the mortality would have been the most terrible in the Tryal, as her decks were almost constantly knee deep in water: But it happened otherwise, for she escaped more favourably than the other two, having only buried 42, and had 39 remaining alive. The havoc of this cruel disease had fallen still more severely on the invalids and marines, than on the sailors. For, in the Centurion, out of 50 invalids and 79 marines, there only remained four invalids, including officers, and 11 marines. In the Gloucester every invalid perished; and of 48 marines, only two escaped. It appears from this account, that the three s.h.i.+ps departed from England with 961 men on board, of whom 626 were dead, and 335 men and boys only remained alive; a number greatly insufficient for manning the Centurion alone, and barely capable of navigating all the three with the utmost exertion of their strength and vigour.

This prodigious reduction of our men was the more alarming, as we were hitherto unacquainted with the fate of the squadron under Pizarro, and had reason to suppose that some part of it, at least, had got round into the South Seas. We were, indeed, much of opinion, from our own sad experience, that they must have suffered greatly in the pa.s.sage: but then every port in the South Sea was open to them, and the whole power of Peru and Chili would be exerted for their refreshment and repair, and for recruiting their loss of men. We had, also, some obscure information of a force to be fitted out against us from Paluo; and, however contemptible the s.h.i.+ps and sailors of this part of the world may have been generally esteemed, it was hardly possible for any thing bearing the name of a s.h.i.+p of war, to be feebler or less considerable than ourselves. Even if there had been nothing to apprehend from the naval power of the Spaniards in these seas, yet our enfeebled situation necessarily gave us great uneasiness, as we were incapable of making an attempt against any of their considerable places; for, in our state of weakness, the risking even of twenty men, would have put the safety of the whole in hazard. We conceived, therefore, that we should be forced to content ourselves with what prizes we might be able to fall in with at sea, before we were discovered, and then to depart precipitately, and esteem ourselves fortunate to regain our native country; leaving our enemies to triumph on the inconsiderable mischief they had suffered from a squadron which had filled them with such dreadful apprehensions. We had reason to imagine the Spanish ostentation would remarkably exert itself on this subject, though our disappointment and their security neither originated in their valour nor our misconduct. Such were the desponding reflections which at this time arose, on the review and comparison of our remaining weakness with our original strength: And, indeed, our fears were far from being groundless, or disproportionate to our feeble and almost desperate condition: For, though the final event proved more honourable than we foreboded, yet the intermediate calamities did likewise surpa.s.s our most gloomy apprehensions; and, could these have been predicted to us while at Juan Fernandez, they would doubtless have appeared insurmountable.

In the beginning of September, as already mentioned, our men being tolerably well recovered, and the season of navigation in these seas drawing nigh, we exerted ourselves in getting our s.h.i.+ps ready for sea.

We converted the foremast of the Anna into a new main-mast for the Tryal; and, still flattering ourselves with the possible hope of some other s.h.i.+ps of our squadron arriving, we intended to leave the main-mast of the Anna, to make a new mizen-mast for the Wager. All hands being thus employed in preparing for our departure, we espied a sail to the N.E. about eleven a.m. of the 18th September, which continued to approach us till her courses appeared even with the horizon. While advancing, we had great hopes that this might prove one of our squadron; but she at length steered away to the eastward, without hauling in for the island, on which we concluded that she must be Spanish. Great differences of opinion now took place, as to the possibility of her people having discovered our tents on sh.o.r.e; some of us strongly insisting, that she certainly had been near enough to have seen something that had given them a jealousy to an enemy, which had occasioned her standing away to the eastwards. Leaving these contests to be settled afterwards, it was resolved to pursue her; and, as the Centurion was in the greatest forwardness, all her hands were got immediately on board, her rigging set up, and her sails bent with all possible expedition, and we got under sail by five in the evening.

At this time we had so very little wind, that all the boats were employed to tow us out of the bay, and what wind there was lasted only long enough to give us an offing of two or three leagues, when it fell dead calm. As night came on we lost sight of the chase, and were extremely impatient for the return of light, in hopes to find that she had been becalmed, as well as we; yet her great distance from the land was 3 reasonable ground for suspecting the contrary, as we actually found in the morning, to our great mortification; for, though the weather was then quite clear, we had no sight of the chase from the mast-head. But, being now quite satisfied that she was an enemy, and the first we had seen in these seas, we resolved not to give over the chase lightly; and, on a small breeze springing up from the W.N.W. we got up our top-gallant masts and yards, set all the sails, and steered S.E. in hopes of retrieving the chase, which we imagined might be bound for Valparaiso. We continued on this course all that day and the next; and then, seeing nothing of the chase, gave over the pursuit, believing that she had, in all probability, reached her port.

Resolving to return to Juan Fernandez, we hauled up to the S.W. having very little wind till the 12th, at three a.m. when a gale sprung up at W.S.W. which obliged us to tack and stand to the N.W. At day-break, we were agreeably surprised by the appearance of a sail on our weather-bow, between four and five leagues distant, on which we crowded all sail and stood towards her, soon perceiving she was a different vessel from that we had chased before. She at first bore down towards us, shewing Spanish colours, and making a signal as to a consort; but, seeing we did not answer her signal, she instantly loofed close to the wind and stood to the southward. Our people were now all in high spirits, and put about s.h.i.+p with great briskness; and, as the chase appeared a large s.h.i.+p, and had mistaken us for her consort, we imagined that she must be a man of war, and probably belonged to the squadron of Pizarro. This induced the commodore to order all the officers cabins to be knocked down and thrown overboard, along with several casks of water and provisions, that stood between the guns; so that we had a clear s.h.i.+p, ready for action. About nine a.m. it came on thick hazy weather, with a shower of rain, during which we lost sight of the chase, and were apprehensive, if this weather should continue, she might escape us, by going on the other tack, or some other device. The weather cleared up, however, in less than an hour, when we found that we had both weathered and fore-reached upon her considerably, and were then near enough to perceive that she was only a merchant s.h.i.+p, without a single tire of guns. About half an hour after twelve noon, being within reasonable distance, we fired four shot among her rigging; on which they lowered their top-sails and bore down to us, but in very great confusion, their top-gallant-sails and stay-sails all fluttering in the wind.

This was owing to their having let run their sheets and halyards, just as we fired at them; after which not a man among them would venture aloft to take them in, as our shot had pa.s.sed there just before.