Daniel Defoe - A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before

Their having two Spanish men of war with them for their convoy, took away a great deal from the joy we had entertained at the news of their being there, and we began to think we should make little or nothing of it; however, we resolved to see the utmost of it, and, particularly, if our double appearance would not now stand us in some stead.

Accordingly, we went away for the river of Plata, and, as usual, spreading French colours, we went boldly up to Buenos Ayres, and sent in our boat, manned with Frenchmen, pretending to be homeward bound from the South Seas, and in want of provisions.

The Spaniards received us with civility, and granted us such provisions as we wanted; and here we found, to our great satisfaction, that there was no such thing as any Spanish man of war there; but they said they expected one, and the governor there for the King of Spain asked our French officer if we would take one of their ships under our convoy? Monsieur Merlotte answered him warily, that his ship was deep loaden, and foul, and he could not undertake anything; but, if they would keep him company, he would do them what service he could; but that also, as they were a rich ship, they did not design to go directly to France, but to Martinico, where they expected to meet with some French men of war to convoy them home.

This answer was so well managed; though there was not one word of truth in it, that one of the three ships, for the other two were not ready, resolved to come away with us, and, in an evil hour for them, they did so.

To be brief, we took the innocent Spaniard into our convoy, and sailed away to the northward with them, but were not far at sea before we let them know what circumstances they were in, by the following method. We were about half a league a head of them, when our captain bringing to, and hauling up our courses, made a signal to the Spaniards for the captain to come on board, which he very readily did; as soon as he was on board, our captain let him know that he was our prisoner, and all his men, and immediately manning their boat with thirty of our men, we sent them on board their ship, to take possession of her, but ordered them that they should behave civilly to the men on board, and plunder nothing. For we made a promise to the Spanish captain, that his ship should not be plundered, upon condition he would give us a just account of his loading, and deliver peaceably to us what riches he had on board; then we also agreed, that we would restore him his ship, which by the way, we found was chiefly loaden with hides, things of no value to us, and that the ship also was an old vessel, strong, but often doubled, and therefore a very heavy sailer, and consequently not at all fit for our purpose, though we greatly wanted a ship to take along with us, we having, as I have said, both too many men, and being too full of goods.

The Spanish captain, though surprised with the stratagem that had brought him thus into the hands of his enemies, and greatly enraged in his mind at being circumvented, and trepanned out of his ship, yet showed a great presence of mind under his misfortune; and, as I verily believe, he would have fought us very bravely, if we had let him know fairly what we were, so he did not at all appear dejected at his disaster, but capitulated with us as if he had been taken sword in hand. And one time, when Captain Merlotte and he could not agree, and the Spanish captain was a little threatened, he grew warm; told the captain that he might be ill used, being in his hands, but that he was not afraid to suffer whatever his ill fortune had prepared for him, and he would not, for fear of ill usage, yield to base conditions; that he was a man of honour, and if he was so too, he demanded to be put on board his own ship again, and he should see he knew how to behave himself. Captain Merlotte smiled at that, and told him, he was not afraid to put him on board his own ship, and fight for her again, and that, if he did so, he was sure he could not escape him; the Spanish captain smiled too, and told him he should see, if he did, that he knew the way to heaven from the bottom of the sea as well as any other road, and that men of courage were never at a loss to conquer their enemy one way or other; intimating, that he would sink by his side rather than be taken, and that he would take care to be but a very indifferent prize to him, if he was conquered.

However, we came to better terms with him afterwards. In short, having taken on board all the silver, which was about two hundred thousand pieces of eight, and whatever else we met with that was valuable, among the rest his ammunition, and six brass guns, we performed conditions, and sent him into the Rio de la Plata again with his ship, to let the other Spanish captains know what scouring they had escaped.

Though we got a good booty, we were disappointed of a ship; however, we were not so sensible of that disappointment now, as we were afterwards: for, as we depended upon going to the South Seas, we made no doubt of meeting with vessels enough for our purpose. Of what followed, the reader will soon be informed.

We had done our work here, and had neither any occasion or any desire to lie any longer on this coast, where the climate was bad, and the weather exceeding hot, and where our men began to be very uneasy, being crowded together so close all in one ship; so we made the best of our way south.

We met with some stormy weather in these seas, and particularly a north-west blast, which carried us for eleven days a great way off to sea; but, as we had sea-room enough, and a stout strong-built ship under us, perfectly well prepared, tight and firm, we made light of the storms we met with, and soon came into our right way again; so that, about the 4th of May, we made land in the latitude of 45° 12', south.

We put in here for fresh water; and, finding nothing of the land marked in our charts, we had no knowledge of the place, but, coming to an anchor at about a league from the shore, our boat went in quest of a good watering-place; in pursuit of this, they went up a creek about two leagues more, where they found good water, and filled some casks, and so came on board to make their report.

The next day we came into the creek's mouth, where we found six to eight fathom water within a cable's length of the shore, and found fresh water enough, but no people or cattle, though an excellent country for both.

Of this country I made many observations, suitable to the design and desire of our ingenious employer and owner; and those observations are one end of publishing this voyage. I shall mention only one observation here, because I shall have occasion to speak of them hereafter more largely. My observation here is as follows: —

An observation concerning the soil and climate of the continent of America, south of the river De la Plata; and how suitable to the genius, the constitution, and the manner of living of Englishmen, and consequently for an English colony.

The particular spot which I observe upon, is that part of the continent of America which lies on the shore of the North Seas, as they are called, though erroneously, for they are more properly the East Seas, being extended along the east shores of South America. The land lies on the same east side of America, extended north and south from Coasta Deserta, in 42°, to Port St. Julian, in 49½°, being almost five hundred miles in length, full of very good harbours, and some navigable rivers. The land is a plain for several scores of miles within the shore, with several little rising hills, but nowhere mountainous or stony; well adapted for enclosing, feeding, and grazing of cattle; also for corn, all sorts of which would certainly not only grow, but thrive very well here, especially wheat, rye, pease, and barley, things which would soon be improved by Englishmen, to the making the country rich and populous, the raising great quantities of grain of all sorts, and cattle in proportion. The trade which I propose for the consumption of all the produce, and the place whither to be carried, I refer to speak of by itself, in the farther progress of this work.