ISLES OF CHAMETLY

Isles Of Chametly The City Purification.

The keys or islands of Chametly are about 16 or 18 leagues to the eastward of Cape Corrientes. They are small, low, and woody, environed with rocks, there are 5 of them lying in the form of a half moon, not a mile from the shore, and between them and the Main is very good riding, secure from any wind.

The Spaniards report that here live fishermen, to fish for the inhabitants of the city of Purification. This is said to be a large town, the best hereabouts; but is 14 leagues up in the country.

The 20th day we entered these islands, passing in on the south-east side, and anchored between the islands and the Main in five fathom clean sand.

Here we found good fresh water and wood, and caught plenty of rock-fish with hook and line, a sort of fish I described at the isle of Juan Fernandez, but we saw no sign of inhabitants besides three or four old huts; therefore I do believe that the Spanish or Indian fishermen come hither only at Lent, or some other such season, but that they do not live here constantly.

The 21st day Captain Townley went away with about 60 men to take an Indian village seven or eight leagues from hence to the westward more towards the cape.

The next day we went to cruise off the cape, where Captain Townley was to meet us. The 24th day, as we were cruising off the cape, the four canoes before mentioned, which Captain Townley’s bark left at the cape, came off to us.

Valderas The Valley Of Flags

They, after the bark left them, passed to the west of the cape and rowed into the valley Valderas, or perhaps Val d’Iris; for it signifies the valley of Flags.

This valley lies in the bottom of a pretty deep bay that runs in between Cape Corrientes on the south-east and the point of Pontique on the north-west, which two places are about 10 leagues asunder. The valley is about three leagues wide; there is a level sandy bay against the sea and good smooth landing.

In the midst of the bay is a fine river whereinto boats may enter; but it is brackish at the latter end of the dry season, which is in February, March, and part of April.

I shall speak more of the seasons in my Chapter of Winds in the Appendix. This valley is bounded within land with a small green hill that makes a very gentle descent into the valley and affords a very pleasant prospect to seaward. It is enriched with fruitful savannahs, mixed with groves of trees fit for any uses, beside fruit-trees in abundance, as guavas, oranges and limes, which here grow wild in such plenty as if nature had designed it only for a garden.

The savannahs are full of fat bulls and cows and some horses, but no house in sight.

When our canoes came to this pleasant valley they landed 37 men and marched into the country seeking for some houses.

They had not gone passed 3 miles before they were attacked by 150 Spaniards, horse and foot.

There was a small thin wood close by them, into which our men retreated to secure themselves from the fury of the horse.

Yet the Spaniards rode in among them and attacked them very furiously till the Spanish captain and 17 more tumbled dead off their horses.

The rest retreated, many of them wounded.

We lost 4 men and 2 desperately wounded. In this action the foot, who were armed with lances and swords and were the greatest number, never made any attack.

The horsemen had each a brace of pistols and some short guns. If the foot had come in they had certainly destroyed all our men.

When the skirmish was over our men placed the two wounded men on horses and came to their canoes.

There they killed one of the horses and dressed it, being afraid to venture into the savannah to kill a bullock, of which there was store.

When they had eaten and satisfied themselves they returned aboard. The 25th day, being Christmas, we cruised in pretty near the cape and sent in 3 canoes with the strikers to get fish, being desirous to have a Christmas dinner.

In the afternoon, they returned aboard with 3 great jew-fish which feasted us all. The next day we sent ashore our canoes again and got 3-4 more.

Captain Townley, who went from us at Chametly, came aboard the 28th day and brought about 40 bushels of maize.

He had landed to the eastward of Cape Corrientes and marched to an Indian village that is four or five leagues in the country.

The Indians, seeing him coming, set two houses on fire that were full of maize and ran away; yet he and his men got in other houses as much as they could bring down on their backs, which he brought aboard.

1686

We cruised off the cape till January 1, 1686 and then made towards the valley Valderas to hunt for beef.

Before night we anchored in the bottom of the bay in 60 fathom water a mile from the shore.

Here we stayed hunting till January 7. Captain Swan and Captain Townley went ashore every morning with about 240 men and marched to a small hill; where they remained with 50 or 60 men to watch the Spaniards, who appeared in great companies on other hills not far distant but did never attempt anything against our men.

Here we killed and salted above 2 months’ meat besides what we spent fresh; and might have killed as much more if we had been better stored with salt.

Our hopes of meeting the Philippine ship were now over as she passed while we were hunting for provisions. This was explained afterwards by prisoners.

So this design failed through Captain Townley’s eagerness after the Lima ship which he attempted in Acapulco Harbour, as I have related.

For though we took a little flour hard by, yet the same guide which told us of that ship would have conducted us where we might have had store of beef and maize: but instead thereof we lost both our time and the opportunity of providing ourselves; and so we were forced to be victualling when we should have been cruising off Cape Corrientes in expectation of the Manila ship.

Hitherto we had coasted along here with two different designs; the one was to get the Manila ship, which would have enriched us beyond measure; and this Captain Townley was most for.

Sir Thomas Cavendish formerly took the Manila ship off Cape San Lucas in California (where we also would have waited for her, had we been early enough stored with provisions, to have met her there) and threw much rich goods overboard.

The other design, which Captain Swan and our crew were most for, was to search along the coast for rich towns and mines chiefly of gold and silver, which we were assured were in this country, and we hoped near the shore: not knowing (as we afterwards found) that it was in effect an inland country, its wealth remote from the South Sea coast and having little or no commerce with it, its trade being driven eastward with Europe by La Vera Cruz.

Yet we had still some expectation of mines, and so resolved to steer on farther northward; but Captain Townley, who had no other design in coming on this coast but to meet this ship, resolved to return again towards the coast of Peru.

Captain Townley Leaves Them With The Darien Indians

In all this voyage on the Mexican coast we had with us a captain and two or three of his men of our friendly Indians of the Isthmus of Darien; who, having conducted over some parties of our privateers, and expressing a desire to go along with us, were received and kindly entertained aboard our ships; and we were pleased in having, by this means, guides ready provided should we be for returning overland, as several of us thought to do, rather than sail round about. But at this time, we of Captain Swan’s ship designing farther to the north-west and Captain Townley going back, we committed these our Indian friends to his care to carry them home. So here we parted; he to the eastward and we to the westward, intending to search as far to the westward as the Spaniards were settled.

It was the 7th day of January in the morning when we sailed from this pleasant valley. The wind was at north-east and the weather fair. At eleven o’clock the sea-wind came at north-west. Before night we passed by Point Pontique; this is the west point of the bay of the valley of Valderas and is distant from Cape Corrientes 10 leagues. This point is in latitude 20 degrees 50 minutes north; it is high, round, rocky, and barren. At a distance it appears like an island.

THE POINT AND ISLES OF PONTIQUE. OTHER ISLES OF CHAMETLY.

A league to the west of this point are two small barren islands, called the islands of Pontique. There are several high, sharp, white rocks that lie scattering about them: we passed between these rocky islands on the left and the Main on the right, for there is no danger. The sea-coast beyond this point runs northward for about 18 leagues, making many ragged points with small sandy bays between them. The land by the seaside is low and pretty woody; but in the country full of high, sharp, barren, rugged, unpleasant hills.

The 14th day we had sight of a small white rock, which appears very much like a ship under sail. This rock is in latitude 21 degrees 15 minutes. It is three leagues from the Main. There is a good channel between it and the Main where you will have 12 or 14 fathom water near the island; but running nearer the Main you will have gradual soundings till you come in with the shore. At night we anchored in six fathom water near a league from the Main in good oazy ground. We caught a great many cat-fish here and at several places on this coast, both before and after this.

From this island the land runs more northerly, making a fair sandy bay; but the sea falls in with such violence on the shore that there is no landing, but very good anchoring on all the coast, and gradual soundings. About a league off shore you will have six fathom, and four mile off shore you will have seven fathom water. We came to an anchor every evening; and in the mornings we sailed off with the land-wind, which we found at north-east, and the sea-breezes at north-west.

The 20th day we anchored about three miles on the east side of the islands Chametly, different from those of that name before mentioned; for these are six small islands in latitude 23 degrees 11 minutes, a little to the south of the Tropic of Cancer, and about 3 leagues from the Main, where a salt lake has its outlet into the sea. These isles are of an indifferent height: some of them have a few shrubby bushes; the rest are bare of any sort of wood. They are rocky round by the sea, only one or two of them have sandy bays on the north side. There is a sort of fruit growing on these islands called penguins; and it is all the fruit they have.