discharge
those in confinement, on asking pardon, and faithfully promising never
to be guilty of the like again.

We sailed from Gorgona on the 11th August, and as our ships were now
rather thinly manned, I engaged thirty-two of our negro prisoners to
join our company, placing Michael Kendall, a free Jamaica negro, who had
deserted to us from the Spaniards, as their leader, and charging him to
exercise them in the use of arms. At the same time I supplied them with
clothes, desiring them to consider themselves now as Englishmen, and no
longer slaves to the Spaniards. After this we stood over to the bay of
_Jecames_, [Atacames,] where the Indians are free; and with much ado
entered into trade with them, by the help of a priest. We sent them
three large wooden saints to adorn their church, which they took as a
great present; and I sent a feathered cap to the wife of the chief which
was well accepted. We here sold some of our prize goods to good account,
so that we had provisions very cheap. We sailed from hence on the 1st
September, intending for the Gallapagos, and on the 8th we made one of
these islands.

Next day we came to anchor in about thirty fathoms; and in the evening
our boats brought us off a lading of excellent turtle, having sent our
yawl and several men ashore previously to turn over these creatures in
the night; but to no purpose, as we afterwards found they only came
ashore in the day. The island off which we lay was high, rocky, and
barren, with some low land next the sea, but now water was to be found,
like those we had seen formerly. On the 12th the Duchess, which lay at
anchor a good distance from us, had got about 150 land and
sea-tortoises, but not generally so large as ours; while we had 120
turtles, but no land-tortoises as yet. The Marquis had the worst luck.
On the 13th, I sent our pinnace to the place where the Duchess got
land-tortoises, which returned at night with thirty-seven, and some salt
they had found in a pond; and our yawl brought us twenty sea-turtles, so
that we were now well provided. Some of the largest land-tortoises
weighed 100 pounds; and the largest sea-turtles were upwards of 400
pounds weight. The land-tortoises laid eggs on our deck; and our men
brought many of them from the land, pure white, and as large as a
goose's egg, with a strong thick shell, exactly round.

These are the ugliest creatures that can well be imagined, the
back-shell being not unlike the top of an old