Quito

RIVER OF GUAYAQUIL

From Puna to Guayaquil is reckoned 7 leagues. It is 1 league before you come to the river of Guayaquil’s mouth, where it is about two mile wide; from thence upwards the river lies pretty straight without any considerable turnings. Both sides of the river are low swampy land, overgrown with red mangroves, so that there is no landing.

GUAYAQUIL TOWN

Four miles before you come to the town of Guayaquil there’s a low island standing in the river. This island divides the river into two parts, making two very fair channels for ships to pass up and down. The south-west channel is the widest, the other is as deep, but narrower and narrower yet, by reason of many trees and bushes which spread over the river, both from the main and from the island; and there are also several great stumps of trees standing upright in the water on either side.

The island is above a mile long. From the upper part of the island to the town of Guayaquil is almost a league, and near as much from one side of the river to the other. In that spacious place ships of the greatest burden may ride afloat; but the best place for ships is nearest to that part of the land where the town stands; and this place is seldom without ships. Guayaquil stands facing the island, close by the river, partly on the side and partly at the foot of a gentle hill declining towards the river, by which the lower part of it is often overflown. There are two forts, one standing on the low ground, the other on the hill. This town makes a very fine prospect, it being beautified with several churches and other good buildings. Here lives a governor who, as I have been informed, has his patent from the king of Spain.

ITS COMMODITIES, COCOA, SARSAPARILLA, QUITO CLOTH.

Guayaquil may be reckoned one of the chiefest sea ports in the South Seas: the commodities which are exported from hence are cocoa, hides, tallow, sarsaparilla, and other drugs, and woollen cloth, commonly called cloth of Quito.

The cocoa grows on both sides of the river above the town. It is a small nut, like the Campeachy nut: I think, the smallest of the two; they produce as much cocoa here as serves all the kingdom of Peru; and much of it is sent to Acapulco and from thence to the Philippine Islands.

Sarsaparilla grows in the water by the sides of the river, as I have been informed.

The Quito-cloth comes from a rich town in the country within land called Quito. There is a great deal made, both serges and broadcloth. This cloth is not very fine, but it is worn by the common sort of people throughout the whole kingdom of Peru. This and all other commodities which come from Quito are shipped off at Guayaquil for other parts; and all imported goods for the city of Quito pass by Guayaquil: by which it may appear that Guayaquil is a place of no mean trade.

QUITO CITY, GOLD

Quito is a very populous city, seated in the heart of the country. It is inhabited partly by Spaniards. Most are natives under the Spanish government.

It is environed with mountains of a vast height, from whose bowels many great rivers have their rise. These mountains abound in gold, which by violent rains is washed with the sand into the adjacent brooks where the Indians resort in troops, washing away the sand and putting up the gold dust in their calabashes or gourd-shells:

but for the manner of gathering the gold I refer you to Mr. Wafer’s book: only I shall remark here that Quito is the place in all the kingdom of Peru that abounds most with this rich metal, as I have been often informed.

The country is subject to great rains and very thick fogs, especially the valleys. For that reason it is very unwholesome and sickly. The chiefest distempers are fevers, violent headache, pains in the bowels, and fluxes.

I know no place where gold is found but what is very unhealthy, as I shall more particularly relate when I come to speak of Achin in the isle of Sumatra in the East Indies. Guayaquil is not so sickly as Quito and other towns farther within land; yet in comparison with the towns that are on the coast of Mare Pacifico, south of Cape Blanco, it is very sickly.

AN ATTEMPT ON THE TOWN OF GUAYAQUIL

We aimed for the town of Guayaquil. We left our ships off Cape Blanco and ran into the Bay of Guayaquil with our bark and canoes, steering in for the island Santa Clara, where we arrived the next day after we left our ships.

From thence we sent away two canoes the next evening to Punta Arena. At this point there are abundance of oysters and other shellfish, as cockles and mussels; therefore the Indians of Puna often come hither to get these fish.

Our canoes got over before day and absconded in a creek to wait for the coming of the Puna Indians. The next morning some of them, according to their custom, came thither on bark-logs at the latter part of the ebb, and were all taken by our men.

The next day, by their advice, the 2 watchmen of the Indian town Puna were taken by our men, and all its inhabitants, not one escaping. The next ebb they took a small bark laden with Quito-cloth. She came from Guayaquil that tide and was bound to Lima, they having advice that we were gone off the coast by the bark which I said we saw while we lay at the island Lobos.

A GREAT ADVANTAGE SLIPPED THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN MADE OF A COMPANY OF NEGROES TAKEN IN GUAYAQUIL RIVER.

The master of this cloth-bark informed our men that there were three barks coming from Guayaquil, laden with Negroes: he said they would come from thence the next tide.

The same tide of ebb that they took the cloth-bark they sent a canoe to our bark, where the biggest part of the men were, to hasten them away with speed to the Indian town. The bark was now riding at Punta Arena; and the next flood she came with all the men and the rest of the canoes to Puna. The tide of flood being now far spent we lay at this town till the last of the ebb and then rowed away, leaving five men aboard our bark who were ordered to lie still till eight o’clock the next morning, and not to fire at any boat or bark, but after that time they might fire at any object: for it was supposed that before that time we should be masters of Guayaquil. We had not rowed above two mile before we met and took one of the three barks laden with Negroes; the master of her said that the other two would come from Guayaquil the next tide of ebb. We cut her main-mast down and left her at an anchor.

It was now strong flood, and therefore we rowed with all speed towards the town in hopes to get thither before the flood was down, but we found it farther than we did expect it to be, or else our canoes, being very full of men, did not row so fast as we would have them. The day broke when we were two leagues from the town, and then we had not above an hour’s flood more; therefore our captains desired the Indian pilot to direct us to some creek where we might abscond all day, which was immediately done, and one canoe was sent toward Puna to our bark to order them not to move nor fire till the next day. But she came too late to countermand the first orders; for the two barks before mentioned laden with Negroes come from the town the last quarter of the evening tide, and lay in the river close by the shore on one side, and we rowed upon the other side and missed them; neither did they see nor hear us. As soon as the flood was spent the two barks weighed and went down with the ebb towards Puna.

Our bark, seeing them coming directly towards them and both full of men, supposed that we by some accident had been destroyed, and that the two barks were manned with Spanish soldiers and sent to take our ships, and therefore they fired three guns at them a league before they came near. The two Spanish barks immediately came to an anchor, and the masters got into their boats and rowed for the shore; but our canoe that was sent from us took them both. The firing of these three guns made a great disorder among our advanced men, for most of them did believe they were heard at Guayaquil, and that therefore it could be no profit to lie still in the creek; but either row away to the town or back again to our ships. It was now quarter ebb, therefore we could not move upwards if we had been disposed so to do. At length Captain Davis said he would immediately land in the creek where they lay, and march directly to the town, if but forty men would accompany him: and without saying more words he landed among the mangroves in the marshes. Those that were so minded followed him, to the number of forty or fifty. Captain Swan lay still with the rest of the party in the creek, for they thought it impossible to do any good that way. Captain Davis and his men were absent about four hours, and then returned all wet and quite tired, and could not find any passage out into the firm land. He had been so far that he almost despaired of getting back again: for a man cannot pass through those red mangroves but with very much labour. When Captain Davis was returned we concluded to be going towards the town the beginning of the next flood; and, if we found that the town was alarmed, we purposed to return again without attempting anything there. As soon as it was flood we rowed away and passed by the island through the north-east channel, which is the narrowest. There are so many stumps in the river that it is very dangerous passing in the night (and that is the time we always take for such attempts) for the river runs very swift, and one of our canoes stuck on a stump and had certainly overset if she had not been immediately rescued by others. When we were come almost to the end of the island, there was a musket fired at us out of the bushes on the Main.

We then had the town open before us, and presently saw lighted torches, or candles, all the town over; whereas before the gun was fired there was but one light: therefore we now concluded we were discovered: yet many of our men said that it was a holy day the next day, as it was indeed, and that therefore the Spaniards were making fireworks, which they often do in the night against such times. We rowed therefore a little farther, and found firm land, and Captain Davis pitched his canoe ashore and landed with his men. Captain Swan and most of his men did not think it convenient to attempt anything, seeing the town was alarmed; but at last, being upbraided with cowardice, Captain Swan and his men landed also. The place where we landed was about two mile from the town: it was all overgrown with woods so thick that we could not march through in the night; and therefore we sat down, waiting for the light of the day.

We had 2 native pilots with us; one that had been with us a month, who, having received some abuses from a gentleman of Guayaquil, to be revenged offered his service to us, and we found him very faithful: the other was taken by us not above two or three days before, and he seemed to be as willing as the other to assist us.

This latter was led by one of Captain Davis’s men, who showed himself very forward to go to the town, and upbraided others with faint-heartedness: yet this man (as he afterwards confessed) notwithstanding his courage, privately cut the string that the guide was made fast with, and let him go to the town by himself, not caring to follow him; but when he thought the guide was got far enough from us, he cried out that the pilot was gone, and that somebody had cut the cord that tied him.

This put every man in a moving posture to seek the Indian, but all in vain; and our consternation was great, being in the dark and among woods; so the design was wholly dashed, for not a man after that had the heart to speak of going farther. Here we stayed till day and then rowed out into the middle of the river, where we had a fair view of the town; which, as I said before, makes a very pleasant prospect. We lay still about half an hour, being a mile or something better from the town. They did not fire one gun at us, nor we at them. Thus our design on Guayaquil failed: yet Captain Townley and Captain Francois Gronet took it a little while after this. When we had taken a full view of the town we rowed over the river, where we went ashore to a beef estancia or farm and killed a cow, which we dressed and ate. We stayed there till the evening tide of ebb, and then rowed down the river, and the 9th day in the morning arrived at Puna. In our way thither we went aboard the three barks laden with Negroes, that lay at their anchor in the river, and carried the barks away with us. There were 1000 Negroes in the three barks, all lusty young men and women. When we came to Puna we sent a canoe to Punta Arena to see if the ships were come thither. The 12th day she returned again with tidings that they were both there at anchor. Therefore in the afternoon we all went aboard of our ships and carried the cloth-bark with us, and about forty of the stoutest Negro men, leaving their three barks with the rest; and out of these also Captain Davis and Captain Swan chose about 14 or 15 apiece, and turned the rest ashore.

There was never a greater opportunity put into the hands of men to enrich themselves than we had to have gone with these Negroes and settled ourselves at Santa Maria, on the Isthmus of Darien, and employed them in getting gold out of the mines there.

Which might have been done with ease: for about six months before this Captain Harris (who was now with us) coming overland from the North Seas with his body of Privateers, had routed the Spaniards away from the town and gold-mines of Santa Maria, so that they had never attempted to settle there again since.

Add to this that the Indian neighbourhood, who were mortal enemies to the Spaniards and had been flushed by their successes against them, through the assistance of the privateers, for several years, were our fast friends and ready to receive and assist us.

We had:

• 1,000 Negroes to work for us
• 200 tons of flour that lay at the Galapagos

We could:

• careen and fit our ships in the river of Santa Maria
• fortify the mouth to keep out the counterattack by the Spaniards in Peru

From this country, we could export ourselves, or effects, or import goods or men to our assistance; for in a short time we should have had assistance from all parts of the West Indies.

Many thousands of privateers from Jamaica and the French islands especially would have flocked over to us; and long before this time we might have been masters not only of those mines (the richest gold-mines ever yet found in America) but of all the coast as high as Quito: and much more than I say might then probably have been done.

GOING TO PLATA AGAIN.

These might seem but golden dreams.

On the 13th day, we sailed from Punta Arena towards Plata to seek our bark that was sent to the island Lobos in search of Captain Eaton. We were two ships in company and two barks;

On the 16th day we arrived at Plata, but found no bark there, nor any letter. The next day we went over to the main to fill water, and in our passage met our bark: she had been a second time at the island Lobos and, not finding us, was coming to Plata again. They had been in some want of provision since they left us, and therefore they had been at Santa Helena, and taken it; where they got as much maize as served them three or four days; and that, with some fish and turtle which they struck, lasted them till they came to the island Lobos de Terra. They got boobies’ and penguins’ eggs, of which they laid in a store; and went from thence to Lobos de la Mar where they replenished their stock of eggs, and salted up a few young seal, for fear they should want: and, being thus victualled, they returned again towards Plata.

ISLE PLATA

When our water was filled we went over again to the island Plata. There we parted the cloths that were taken in the cloth-bark into two lots or shares; Captain Davis and his men had one part and Captain Swan and his men had the other part. The bark which the cloth was in Captain Swan kept for a tender. At this time here were at Plata a great many large turtles, which I judge came from the Galapagos, for I had never seen any here before though I had been here several times. This was their coupling-time, which is much sooner in the year here than in the West Indies, properly so called. Our strikers brought aboard every day more than we could eat. Captain Swan had no striker, and therefore had no turtle but what was sent him from Captain Davis; and all his flour too he had from Captain Davis: but since our disappointment at Guayaquil Captain Davis’s men murmured against Captain Swan, and did not willingly give him any provision, because he was not so forward to go thither as Captain Davis. However at last these differences were made up and we concluded to go into the Bay of Panama, to a town called La Velia; but, because we had not canoes enough to land our men, we were resolved to search some rivers where the Spaniards have no commerce, there to get Indian canoes.