A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 762 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10.

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 762 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10.

Having now got back to the western entrance of the straits, they made sail for the coast of Chili, which the general maps represented as trending N.W. but which they found to the east of N. so that these coasts had not been fully discovered, or very inaccurately represented, for the space of 12 degrees at least, either for the purpose to deceive, or through ignorance.  Proceeding northwards along the coast of Chili, they came to the island of Mocha, in 38 deg. 30’ S. latitude, on the 29th November, where they cast anchor.  The admiral went here ashore with ten men, and found the island inhabited by a people who had fled from the extreme cruelty of the Spaniards, leaving their original habitations on the continent, to enjoy their lives and liberties in security.  These people at first behaved civilly to the admiral and his men, bringing them potatoes and two fat sheep, promising also to bring them water, and they received some presents in return.  Next day, however, when two men went ashore with barrels for water, the natives suddenly assailed and killed them.  The reason of this outrage was, that they mistook the English for Spaniards, whom they never spare when they fall into their hands.

Continuing their course along the coast of Chili, they met an Indian in a canoe, who mistook them for Spaniards, and told them of a great Spanish ship at St Jago, laden for Peru.  Rewarding him for this intelligence, the Indian conducted them to where the ship lay at anchor, in the port of Valparaiso, in lat. 33 deg. 40’ S.[27] All the men on board were only eight Spaniards and three negroes, who, supposing the English to have been friends, welcomed them with beat of drum, and invited them on board to drink Chili wine.  The English immediately boarded and took possession; when one of the Spaniards leapt overboard, and swam ashore to give notice of the coming of the English.  On this intelligence, all the inhabitants of the town, being only about nine families, escaped into the country.  The admiral and his men landed, and rifled the town and its chapel, from which they took a silver chalice, two cruets, and an altar cloth.  They found also in the town a considerable store of Chili wine, with many boards of cedar wood, all of which they carried on board their ships.  Then setting all the prisoners on shore, except one named John Griego, born in Greece, who was detained as a pilot, the admiral directed his course for Lima, the capital of Peru, under the guidance of this new pilot.

[Footnote 27:  More correctly, 33 deg. 00’ 30” S. and long. 71 deg. 38’ 30” W. from Greenwich.—­E.]

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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.