after he had put from the foip, gave them notice of his efcape;
and then it was- too late either to prevent him, or purfue him :
for, their boats being all adrift, it was a confiderable time before
they could contrive the means o f getting on ffiore themfelves,
to fearch for their boats. The Indian too, by this effort, befides
the recovery of his liberty, was in fome fort revenged on thofe
who had confined him, both by the perplexity they were in-
volved in from the Iofs o f their boats, and by the terror he threw
them into at his departure; for, on the firft alarm o f the watch,
who cried out, the Indians, the whole fhip was in the utmoft
confufion, believing themfelves to be boarded by a fleet o f armed
periaguas.
The refolution and fagacity with which the Indian behaved,
tipon this occafion, had it been exerted on a more extenfive obie<ft
than the retrieving the freedom o f a Angle family, might perhaps
have immortalized the exploit, and have given him a rank amonjff
ihe illuftrious names o f antiquity. Indeed, his late Mailers did
fo much julfice to his merit, as to own that it was a moll gallant
enterprize; and that they were grieved they had ever been neceffi-
tated, by their attention to their own fafety, to abridge the liberty
o f a perfon, o f whofe prudence and courage they had now fuch a
diflinguilhed proof. As it was fuppofed, by fome o f them that
he Hill continued in the woods in the neighbourhood o f the Port
where it was feared he might fuffer for want ofprovifions thev
eafily prevailed upon the Mafter to leave a quantity o f fuch food
as they thought would be moll agreeable to him, in a particular
part, where they imagined he would be likely to find i t : and there
was reafbn to conjedlure, that this piece of humanity was not altogether
ufelefs to him ; for, on vifiting the place fome time after
it was found that the provifion was gone, and in a manner that
made them conclude it had fallen into his hands.
,. - -------- . o ‘ “ “ 'V were latistied that this Indian
(hll continued near them; yet others would needs conclude
that he was gone to the Ifland o f Chiloe, where they feared he
would
would alarm the Spaniards, and would foon return with a force
fufficient to furprize the Pink: on this occafion the Mafter_ of the
P i n k was prevailed on to omit firing the evening-gun ; for it mult
be remembered (and there is a particular reafon hereafter for attending
to this cifcumftance), that the Mafter, from an oftentatious
imitation of the praftice of'men of war, had hitherto fired a gun
every evening at the Letting o f the watch. This, he pretended, was
to awe the enemy, i f there wasf any within hearing, and. to convince
them that the Pink was always on her guard; but it being
now. reprefented to him, that his great fecurity was his conceal-
ment and that the evening-gun might poffibly difcover him, and
Lerve’to guide the enemy to him, he was prevailed onto omit it
for the future: and his crew being now well refrefhed, and their
wood and water fufficiently repleniftied, he, in a few days after
the efcape o f the Indian, put toLea, and had a fortunate paffage to
the rendezvous at the Ifland of Juan Fernandes, where he arrived
on the 16th o f Augujl, as hath been already mentioned in the pretedTfosweffS,
r’ the Anna Pink, was, as I have obferved, the laft that
joined the Commodore at Juan Fernandes The remaining fo.ps
Of the fquadron were the - Severn, the Pearl, and the/Tager ftore-
foip: the Severn and Pearl parted company with the fquadron off
Cape Noir, and, as we afterwards learnt, put back to the Brazils;
fo that of all the {hips which came into the South-Seas, the Wager,
Captain Cheap, was the only one that was miffing This fhip had
on board a few field-pieces, mounted for land-ferv.ee ; together
with fome coehorn mortars, and feveral kinds of artillery-ftores,
and pioneers tools, intended for the operations on fhore: therefore,
as the enterprize on Baldwin had been refolved on, for the firft undertaking
of the fquadron, Captain Cheap was extremely felicitous
that theft materials,' which were in his cuftody, might be ready
before Baldivia ; that, i f the fquadron Ihould poffibly rendezvous
there (as he knew not the condition they weie then reduced to),
no delay nor difappointment might be imputed to him.