the island of Cano, where we soon did our business, having a good
boat.

[Footnote 278: Betagh charges Shelvocke on this occasion, with the
concealment of a considerable treasure, taken in the Conception, of
which some account will be given at the conclusion of the voyage.--E.]

On our passage to that island, the sweetmeats of all kinds were divided
among our messes; and one day a man complained that he had got a box of
marmalade into which his knife could not penetrate, and desired
therefore to have it changed. On opening it, I found it to contain a
cake of virgin silver, moulded on purpose to fill the box, weighing 200
dollars; and on examining the rest, we found five more of the same kind.
These cakes of silver, being very porous, were nearly of the some weight
with so much marmalade, and were evidently contrived for the purpose of
defrauding the king of Spain of his fifths, which he exacts from all
silver procured in the mines of Peru. We doubtless left many such cakes
behind in the Conception, so that this contrivance served them both to
wrong their king, and to deceive their enemies. A similarly vexatious
affair occurred in a prize taken by the Success, in which there was a
considerable quantity of _pinos_, or masses of virgin silver, in the
form of bricks, artfully plaistered over with clay, and dried in the
sun. As the Spaniards in Peru never burn their bricks, Clipperton and
his people took these for real bricks, and threw a great number of them
overboard as so much rubbish, and did not discover the deception until
four or five only remained. Every thing taken in the Conception, was
divided according to the articles settled at Juan Fernandez, which gave
me only six shares, instead of sixty; and the people refused to allow me
an hundred pounds, which I had laid out of my own money, for necessary
supplies at the island of St Catharines.

I now found myself under many difficulties as to the course we were to
pursue, because the company knew well enough that there was no necessity
of going farther than the lat. of 13 deg. N. for going to the East Indies. I
had therefore to represent the advantage of cleaning and repairing our
ship at Porto Segnro, in California, and I had much difficulty to
persuade them. I at last brought them to my purpose, when we sailed from
Cano northwards. Having inconstant gales and bad weather, we went
between seventy and eighty leagues out to sea, in hopes of meeting more
settled weather