1681-1691

dampier's first voyage round the world [8]

“april 17, 1681,” writes dampier, “about ten a clock in the morning being 12 leagues n.-w. from the island plata, we left captain sharp and those who were willing to go with him in the ship, and imbarqued into our launch and canoas, designing for the river of santa maria in the gulf of st. michael, which is about 200 leagues from the isle of plata.” the boats which carried them were a launch and two canoes; and their provisions consisted of a quantity of flour mixed with twenty or thirty pounds of powdered chocolate. that no man should venture the crossing of the isthmus on foot who, by health or feebleness of will, might prove unequal to [pg 45] the march, it was settled at the start that any one who faltered on the journey overland should be at once shot to death: “for,” says dampier, “we knew that the spaniards would soon be after us, and one man falling into their hands might be the ruin of us all by giving an account of our strength and condition; yet this would not deter 'em from going with us.” when abreast of cape passao they captured a small vessel and sailed to cape st. lorenzo, where they disembarked, after removing their provisions and clothes and scuttling their little ship. it was now may 1st, 1681.

the march of dampier and his companions across the isthmus of panama is a feat that ranks amongst the most memorable of the traditions of travel and adventure. the qualities of the climate of that part of the world have found emphasis in our time in published accounts of the mortality among the people employed out there on the great french engineer's scheme of a canal. the land is watered by numbers of rivers filled with alligators; it is darkened and often rendered impenetrable by dense growths of tropical vegetation crowded with snakes; and in many places it is blocked by barriers of hills and mountains belted with miasmatic vapours. our little company of buccaneers crossed the isthmus in twenty-three days, in which time, according to dampier's account, they travelled one hundred and ten miles. their adventures were few, but the hardships constant and severe. for the most part they slept all night in the open, and repeatedly arose in the morning from their beds of mire with clothes saturated by storms of rain. their surgeon, lionel wafer, was badly hurt in the knee by the explosion of a parcel of gunpowder,—an accident that gave his companions [pg 46] much anxiety, “being lyable ourselves every moment to misfortune,” says dampier, “and none to look after us but him.” on several occasions many of them were nearly drowned whilst fording rivers swollen with rains. the difficulties in the road of their progress may be gathered from a single incident. they had arrived at the banks of a river which they were obliged to cross. the water was deep and the current ran swiftly. it was proposed that those who could swim should assist those who were helpless in this way to the opposite bank; but then, how were they to transport the guns, provisions, and other articles that they carried? they decided to send a man over with a line, who, by means of it, would be able to haul the goods across, and then drag those ashore who could not swim. a fellow named gayny secured the end of the line around his neck and plunged into the river, but the current kinked and entangled the rope in some way and threw the swimmer on his back. he had slung a bag containing three hundred dollars over his shoulder, and this weight, helped by the drag of the line, drew the unfortunate man under, and he was seen no more. they finally succeeded in crossing by felling a tall tree, which happily spanned the river and served them as a bridge. their food consisted of fish and such animals as they could contrive to shoot, particularly monkeys, whose flesh they ate with relish. it was not until may 23rd that they came in sight of the atlantic, which it was then the custom to speak of as the north sea, and the next day they went on board a french privateer commanded by a captain tristian. some of their comrades had died by the way, and some had been left behind. amongst the [pg 47] latter was wafer, the surgeon, who a few weeks afterwards was met by dampier while cruising in the neighbourhood of la sound's key. some indians came aboard, and brought with them the surgeon and survivors of the others who had been left on the isthmus. “mr. wafer,” says dampier, “wore a clout about him, and was painted like an indian; and he was some time aboard before i knew him.” [9]

captain tristian, having dampier and his comrades in the ship, set sail, and arrived in two days at springer's quay, where they found eight privateers lying at anchor. four of them were english; two of ten guns each, and both carrying one hundred men; a third of four guns and forty men. the others were less formidable. the dutch vessel mounted four guns and carried sixty men, and was commanded by one captain yanky. the frenchmen were respectively of eight guns and forty men, and six guns and seventy men. here, by guessing at the crews of the smaller ships, we arrive at a body of pirates numbering between five and six hundred fearless, determined, ferocious ruffians! it is conceivable that the spaniards in those waters should have lived in a state of terror. the wonder is that the swarms of miscreants who preyed upon them should have left them a house to dwell in or a ducat to conceal.

[pg 48]

after many debates it was agreed amongst the masters and crews of these vessels to attack a town the name of which dampier says he has forgotten. the vessel into which our hero found himself drafted was a french craft of eight guns and forty men, commanded by a man named archemboe. the fleet weighed, but during the night they were scattered by a hard gale, and when day broke archemboe's ship was alone. dampier, with others of his comrades who were with archemboe, speedily learnt to hate their french associates. the sailors were utterly worthless in bad, and lazy, lounging loafers in fine, weather: “the saddest creatures that i was ever among,” writes dampier, “but though we had bad weather that required many hands aloft, yet the biggest part of them never stirred out of their hammocks but to eat.” later on they fell in with captain wright, who belonged to the fleet, and dampier's english shipmates induced this man to fit out a prize of his for them; dampier himself joining wright, whose vessel, a barco longo, mounted four guns and carried fifty men. shortly after this wright, in company with the dutchman, captain yanky, started on a cruise along the coast of cartagena.

dampier's narrative here is a very close, curious, and interesting description of the islands of this part of the sea and of the shores of the mainland. he also prints pages of notes about the birds common to those parts, the pearl-fishery, and other matters of a like kind. the charm of a sailor-like simplicity is in everything he says. “i have not been curious,” he writes in his preface to a new voyage round the world, “as to the spelling of the names of places, plants, fruits, animals, etc., which in [pg 49] many of the remoter parts are given at the pleasure of travellers, and vary according to their different humours: neither have i confined myself to such names as are given by learned authors, or so much as enquired after them. i write for my countrymen, and have therefore for the most part used such names as are familiar to our english seamen and those of our colonies abroad, yet without neglecting others that occur'd.”

let dampier's literary defects be what they may, assuredly unintelligibility is not one of them.

the cruise, in a buccaneering sense, was not a profitable one. they captured a few small vessels, but their prizes yielded them little more than some tons of sugar, marmalade, cocoa, hides, and earthenware. they then resolved to separate, and after dividing the plunder they parted company, having enough vessels in the shape of prizes to carry them wherever they might choose to go. twenty of them, amongst whom was dampier, putting their share of the booty into a small bark, set sail for virginia and arrived there after an uneventful passage in july, 1682. in this country dampier lived for thirteen months, but of his life he tells nothing, merely hinting that a great many troubles befell him.

amongst the crew of the vessel commanded by the dutchman, captain yanky—one of the piratical commanders with whom dampier was associated after crossing the isthmus—there had been a quartermaster named john cooke, a creole. on yanky capturing a spanish prize, cooke, by virtue of his position according to the practice of the buccaneers, claimed and obtained command of her. but the privateersmen were of mixed [pg 50] nationalities, and the french, growing jealous of the englishmen, plundered and stripped the men who had been their shipmates and companions-in-arms, and turned them naked ashore. captain tristian, however, whose ship, it will be remembered, dampier and his comrades boarded on the darien coast, took pity upon the english, and carried ten of them, one of whom was cooke, to the island of tortuga. whilst they lay there at anchor the english rose, seized tristian's vessel, and sailing away with her made two captures of importance, one of which they navigated to virginia, where they arrived in april, 1683. having sold the cargo of this prize they fitted her out as a privateer, mounting her, captain cowley says in his voyage, with eight guns, though dampier makes the number eighteen. they called her the revenge. dampier with many others volunteered to sign articles for her, and when she set sail her crew, according to cowley, consisted of fifty-two, but according to dampier of seventy men.

the voyage of the revenge was written by cowley as well as by dampier—that is to say, a large portion of this voyage is included in dampier's first volume of his travels. cowley's account is very full, wanting indeed the flavour of dampier's style, and the vitality and archness of his descriptive powers; but in one sense cowley is more interesting than the other—i mean, that as a freebooter he writes with far more candour than dampier, whose narratives everywhere repeat by implication the direct apology he makes in the preface to his first volume:

“as for the actions of the company, among whom i made the greatest part of this voyage, a thread of which i have carried on thro' it, 'tis not to divert the [pg 51] reader with them that i mention them, much less that i take any pleasure in relating them: but for method's sake and for the reader's satisfaction; who could not so well acquiesce in my description of places, etc., without knowing the particular traverses i made among them: nor in these, without an account of the concomitant circumstances. besides that, i would not prejudice the truth and sincerity of my relation, tho' by omissions only. and as for the traverses themselves, they make for the reader's advantage; however little for mine, since thereby i have been the better inabled to gratify his curiosity; as one who rambles about a country can give usually a better account of it, than a carrier who jogs on to his inn, without ever going out of his road.”

cowley had not dampier's sensitiveness; indeed, he might not have considered his conscience as a buccaneer unduly burdened. it is manifest that as he wrote he was still smarting under the trick that had been put upon him, and to gratify his resentment he related baldly all the truth he could recollect. he had been prevailed upon by cooke to sail as master in the privateer, which was professedly bound to san domingo, that her commander might at that island obtain a commission to legalise his acts at sea; but in reality cooke's first, real, and only design was wholly one of piracy, and nothing was said to cowley about it until the ship was well clear of the land, when, of course, he was forced to fall in with the scheme. [10] this was in the year 1683. dampier was now thirty-one years of age, and fairly, but unconsciously, [pg 52] started on the first of those voyages which were to make him in his day and to succeeding times one of the most distinguished of the circumnavigators of the globe.

the revenge sailed from achamack on august 23rd in the year just named. nothing for many weeks broke the monotony of the passage save the incident of a heavy gale of wind which the vessel encountered off the cape verd islands. cowley dwells lightly upon this storm as if he would make little or nothing of it, but dampier insists upon its being the most violent he had ever experienced in any part of the world. indeed he has preserved an account of it in those chapters in the second volume of his voyages, which he entitles, “a discourse of winds, breezes, storms, tides, and currents.” the nautical reader will, i hope, thank me for transcribing a passage that is more curiously illustrative of the seamanship and sea-technicalities of the period of history to which this narrative belongs than any like account by other hands that i can call to mind.

“if after the mizan is hall'd up and furled, if then the ship will not wear, we must do it with some headsail, which yet sometimes puts us to our shifts. as i was once in a very violent storm sailing from virginia, mentioned in my voyage round the world, we scudded before the wind and sea some time, with only our bare poles; and the ship, by the mistake of him that con'd, broched too, and lay in the trough of the sea; which then went so high that every wave threatn'd to over-whelm us. and indeed if any one of them had broke in on our deck it might have foundered us. the master, [11] whose fault this was, rav'd like a mad man and [pg 53] called for an axe to cut the mizan shrouds, and turn the mizan mast overboard: which indeed might have been an expedient to bring her to her course: the captain was also of his mind. now our main-yard and fore-yard were lowered upon a port-last, as we call it, that is down pretty nigh the deck, and the wind blew so fierce that we did not dare to shew any head-sail, for they must have blown away if we had, neither could all the men in the ship have furled them again; therefore we had no hopes of doing it that way. i was at this time on the deck with some others of our men; and among the rest one mr. john smallbone, who was the main instrument at that time of saving us. come! said he to me, let us go a little way up the fore-shrouds, it may be that that may make the ship wear: for i have been doing it before now. he never tarried for an answer, but run forward presently, and i followed him. we went up the shrouds half-mast up, and there we spread abroad the flaps of our coats, and presently the ship wore. i think we did not stay there above 3 minutes before we gain'd our point and came down again; but in this time the wind was got into our mainsail, and had blown it loose; and tho' the main-yard was down a port-last and our men were got on deck as many as could lye one by another, besides the deck full of men, and all striving to furl that sail, yet could we not do it, but were forced to cut it all along by the head-rope, and so let it fall down on the deck.”

a noticeable thing of their outward run is that they took above five months to sail from the coast of virginia to abreast of cape horn. they got no sights after making staten island until they had entered the south [pg 54] sea, and were obliged to grope their way in their square-built, round-bowed, and clumsy old craft past the stormiest headland in the world, through weather blind with snow and black with cloud, and over seas running in mountains to the pressure of five hundred leagues of gale. when to the westward of the cape they encountered one captain eaton in a privateer that had been equipped and despatched from london to plunder the western american coast, and proceeded with him to juan fernandez, where they arrived eight months after leaving achamack. their first act was to send a canoe ashore to obtain news of the mosquito indian who had been left on the island three years before by captain watling. this indian, who proved to be alive, is a figure in the history of romantic adventure scarce less conspicuous in his way than alexander selkirk or peter serrano. he was in the woods hunting for goats when captain watling and his men, alarmed by the apparition of three spanish ships, slipped their cable and sailed away, and all that he had with him at the time consisted of a gun and a knife, a small horn of powder, and a handful of shot. afterwards, by notching his knife to the condition of a saw, he contrived to cut the barrel of his gun into pieces, out of which he manufactured harpoons, lances, hooks, and a long knife. he was thus enabled to provide himself with food, such as flesh of goats, fish, etc. he built himself a hut a short distance from the sea, and lined it with goat-skins. his apparel consisted of a skin wrapped about his waist. there was another mosquito indian amongst the buccaneers, a man named robin, who was the first to leap ashore to greet his brother black. dampier tells us [pg 55] that first robin threw himself flat on his face at the feet of the other, who, helping him up and embracing him, fell flat on the ground at robin's feet, and was by him taken up also. “we stood,” he says, “with pleasure to behold the surprise and tenderness and solemnity of this interview, which was exceedingly affectionate on both sides; and when their ceremonies of civility were over, we also, who stood gazing at them, drew near, each of us embracing him we had found here, who was overjoyed to see so many of his old friends come hither, as he thought, purposely to fetch him.”

they sailed from juan fernandez on april 8th, still in company with eaton's ship. during the month of may they captured several vessels, in one of which, besides a quantity of marmalade, they found a stately and handsome mule designed as a gift for the president of panama, and an immense wooden image of the virgin mary. they were, however, unfortunate enough to miss what would have better pleased them than mules and images; for when this ship started from lima she had eight hundred thousand dollars on board, but on her arrival at guanchaco news of a privateersman then hovering off the port of valdivia came to the ears of the merchants, who thereupon instantly removed every stiver out of the vessel.

the recital, even in an abbreviated form, of the adventures of these buccaneers upon the western american seaboard would make a book of nearly half the thickness of dampier's first volume. as a mere journal of exploits perhaps the narrative grows after a while a little tedious. one sea-fight is like another; the assaults by land lead to nothing; the prizes captured at sea are insignificant. [pg 56] yet dampier's page continues to charm us by the vivacity of his descriptions of coasts, of storms, of the corposant, of the turtle, and by a hundred unlaboured and unconscious felicities of phrase.

when off cape blanco captain cooke died. he was ill when at juan fernandez, and continued so till within two or three leagues of the cape, when he suddenly expired, though dampier tells us he seemed that morning to be as likely to live as he had been some weeks before; “but it is usual for sick men coming from the sea, where they have nothing but the sea-air, to die off as soon as ever they come within view of the land.”

the command devolved upon edward davis, the quartermaster of the ship. cooke's body was taken ashore, and whilst some of the crew were burying it three indians approached, believing the men to be spaniards, and were made prisoners, though one of them shortly after escaped. the others told the buccaneers of a farm where there was plenty of cattle to be had; and the attempt to steal the bullocks is marked by one of those incidents which convey a fuller idea of the resolved and desperate character of the freebooters, their perils, expedients, and astonishing escapes, than could be communicated by volumes of descriptions of their battles by sea and attacks by land. twelve men slept ashore, intending when the morning came to drive the bulls and cows which were feeding in the savannas down to the beach; but when the afternoon of the next day arrived they were still ashore, and their shipmates aboard the vessel growing uneasy, ten men were sent in a boat to see what had become of them. on entering the bay they observed the twelve fellows on a small rock half a [pg 57] mile from the shore standing in water to above their waists. it seems that, having slept through the night, they had risen betimes to catch the cattle, when they were suddenly surprised by forty or fifty armed spaniards. the privateersmen drew together in a body, and retreated without disorder or confusion to the beach, but on arriving there they found their boat, which they had dragged out of the water, in flames. the spaniards now made sure of them, and being numerous, ventured upon several sneers and scoffs before attacking them, asking them, for instance, if they would be so good as to do them the honour to walk to their plantation and steal their cattle and take whatever else they had a mind to, and so forth; to all which menacing and savagely deriding flouts the buccaneers answered never a word. the tide was at half-ebb; a privateersman catching sight of a rock a good distance from the shore, just then showing its head above water, whispered to the others that it would be as good as a castle to them if they could get there. meanwhile the spaniards were beginning to whistle a shot amongst them now and then. one of the tallest of the buccaneers waded into the water to try if the distance to the rock could be forded. the depth proved nowhere great; so the twelve marched over to the little distant stronghold, and there remained till their shipmates came for them. they stood about seven hours in all, and must have perished had the boat not then arrived, for the water was flowing, and the tide thereabouts rose to eight feet. the enemy watched them from the shore, but always from behind the bushes, where they had first planted themselves. “the spaniards,” says dampier contemptuously, “in these parts are very expert in heaving or [pg 58] darting the lance; with which upon occasion they will do great feats, especially in ambuscades: and by their good will they care not for fighting otherwise, but content themselves with standing a loof, threatening and calling names, at which they are as expert as the other; so that if their tongues be quiet we always take it for granted they have laid some ambush.”

not very long after this captain davis and captain eaton separated, bringing the date to the second day of september 1684, and on the 24th dampier's ship arrived at la plata and anchored. whilst lying at this island the privateers were joined by captain swan in a vessel named the cygnet. this ship had been freighted by certain london merchants for honourable traffic with the spaniards in the south seas, but when she was at nicoya there arrived a troop of privateersmen from overland, and swan's men, bringing the pirates aboard, forced their captain to go a-buccaneering. that swan was as reluctant to oblige them as he afterwards represented himself to have been to dampier, is possible; it is certain, however, that on meeting with davis he threw most of the goods he had been freighted to trade with overboard, that his ship, by being “clear,” as it is called, might be the fitter to fight and chase. he seems to have been a man of some foresight. anticipating a time when there might happen such a scarcity of provisions as to force them out of those seas, he taught his men not only to eat, but actually to relish the oily, salt, and rancid flesh of penguins and boobys. “he would commend it,” says dampier, “for extraordinary good food, comparing the seal to a roasting pig, the boobys to hens, and the penguins to ducks.”

[pg 59]

the only land-attack of consequence was the attempt on guayaquil by swan and davis. it was badly concerted and half-heartedly undertaken. they landed at about two miles from the town, and being unable to push their way through the tangled growths by night, sat down to wait for daylight. an indian, who offered to pilot them, was attached to one of davis's men by a string. the privateersman losing heart, secretly cut the string, and, when the guide had gone some distance, bawled out that the indian was off and that somebody had cut the cord! what there was in this to terrify the others is not easily seen, but it is true, nevertheless, that their consternation was so great, not a man would venture a step farther. it was not long before they returned to their ship, and so ended their attempt on guayaquil. the only material issue of this cheap adventure was their capture of three vessels, on board of which were no less than one thousand negroes,—“all lusty young men and women,” says dampier, who laments that they did not convey the whole of them to the isthmus of panama, and employ them in digging for gold in the mines at santa maria. his idea might seem full of promise to him, but it takes another complexion when examined by the light of the experience of the twelve hundred men who embarked at leith for darien on july 26th, 1698.

on december 23rd, 1684, they sailed for the bay of panama, and nine days later, whilst proceeding from tomaco towards gallo, one of their canoes captured a pacquet-boat sailing from panama to lima. the spaniards buoyed the bag of letters and threw it overboard, but it was picked up by the buccaneers, who [pg 60] gathered from the despatches that the president of panama had sent the mail-boat they had seized to hasten the sailing of the plate fleet from lima. dampier says that the privateersmen “were very joyful of this news,” which is intelligible enough when we consider that the king of spain's treasure alone on board this fleet was commonly valued at twenty-four millions of dollars, whilst the worth of the galleons was still further increased by their carrying a vast amount in what was termed merchants' money, besides rich commodities of all sorts. it was at once settled that the buccaneers should intercept this fleet. they were in number now two vessels and three barks, and on february 14th, 1685, having finished the business of careening, cleaning, and watering their craft, they stood away for the bay of panama. whilst they lay off the island of tobago they were nearly destroyed by a singular stratagem. a man feigning to be a merchant came to them from panama. he professed to act as by stealth, in which the buccaneers found no cause for suspicion, for it was common enough for spanish merchants to traffic privately with them, notwithstanding the prohibition of the governors. it was arranged that this merchant should fill his vessel with goods, and bring her by night to the english, who were to shift their berth to receive her. he came, but with a fire-ship instead of a cargo-boat, and approaching the english close, hailed them with the watchword that had been settled upon. the privateers growing suspicious, ordered the vessel to bring to, and on her not doing so, fired into her. her crew instantly jumped into their boats, after firing the ship, which blew up and burnt close [pg 61] alongside of the privateersmen, “so that,” says dampier, “we were forced to cut our cables in all haste, and scamper away as well as we could.” swan was also imperilled by another spanish device. his ship lay about a mile distant, with a canoe made fast to his anchor-buoy. just as the fire-ship blew up, swan noticed something floating on the water close aboard of him. he peered, and discerned a man upon it softly paddling the contrivance towards his vessel. probably the fellow suspected he was discovered, for he suddenly dived and disappeared.

nothing particular happened till the 24th, when, being again at anchor off the island of tobago, about eighteen miles south of the city of panama, they observed a number of canoes filled with men. they kept still, watching them the while; then lifting their anchors, approached and hailed them. they proved to be english and french privateers who had marched across the isthmus; two hundred french and eighty englishmen distributed amongst twenty-eight canoes under the command of captain grognet and captain lequie. these men stated that there still remained on the isthmus at least one hundred and eighty englishmen, commanded by captain townley, who when last heard of were busily employed in the construction of canoes to convey them to the south sea. all the english of the party were immediately taken into the service of captain davis and captain swan, whilst one of the prizes was given to the frenchmen. they were now a strong company of men. first of all there was captain davis in his ship of thirty-six guns, with a crew of one hundred and fifty-six determined rogues, chiefly english; captain swan, sixteen guns [pg 62] and one hundred and forty men, all english; captain townley, one hundred and ten men; captain grognet, three hundred and eight men, all french; captain harris, one hundred men, chiefly english; captain branly, thirty-six men; besides three barks serving as tenders, and a small bark for a fire-ship—in all, nine hundred and sixty men. formidable as this force looks, however, on paper, there were but two of the vessels—namely, swan's and davis's—which mounted guns. the rest had only small arms. on the 28th the spanish fleet hove in sight: fourteen sail, besides periaguas rowing twelve and fourteen oars apiece. the admiral's ship carried forty-eight guns and four hundred and fifty men; the vice-admiral, forty guns and four hundred and fifty men; the others were only a little less powerfully armed and manned. here we have the materials of a terrible fight, and we look with confidence to the buccaneers for a glorious victory. but never was failure completer. nothing was done till the afternoon had darkened into evening, and then a few shots were exchanged. when the night came down the spaniards anchored, and the buccaneers observed a light flaming in the admiral's top. it remained stationary for half an hour and was then extinguished. soon afterwards it was again exposed, and the buccaneers, believing it to be still aboard the admiral, flattered themselves with having the weather-gage. but when the morning broke they found, to their disgust, that this light had been a stratagem, and that they were to leeward. the spaniards sighting them, immediately bore down under a press of sail, and the buccaneers ran for it. “thus,” says dampier, “ended this day's work, and with it all that we had been [pg 63] projecting for five or six months; when instead of making ourselves masters of the spanish fleet and treasure, we were glad to escape them; and owed that too in a great measure to their want of courage to pursue their advantage.” he adds that the failure was largely owing to the cowardice of captain grognet and his men, whose only part in the man?uvring was running away. [12]

the buccaneers were now growing disheartened by their ill-luck. on august 25th, 1685, davis and swan separated, and dampier, who had heretofore served under davis, joined swan, not, as he assures us, from any dislike of his old captain, but because he understood that it was swan's intention before long to go to the east indies, “which,” he exclaims, “was a way very agreeable to my inclination.” it was not, however, until march 1st, 1686, that they took leave of the mexican coast and started on that voyage which led to dampier's circumnavigation of the globe. they went in two ships, one commanded by swan, and the other by a man named teat. in number they were one hundred and fifty men—one hundred aboard swan, and fifty, exclusive of some slaves, in the other vessel. their start was for guam, one of the ladrone islands, and the vagueness and uncertainty of the navigation of those days finds a sin [pg 64]gular illustration in dampier's surmise as to the actual distance between cape corrientes and their destination. he tells us that the spaniards reckoned the distance about two thousand three hundred and fifty leagues, whereas the english calculations reduced it to less than two thousand leagues. the truth being unknown to the crews, they entered upon the voyage with something of that despondency and apprehension which the mariners of columbus felt after they had lost sight of land. the hope of plunder heartened them somewhat, for swan talked to them of the acapulco ship and of a profitable cruise off the philippines; but in sober truth with but little conscience in his assurances and exhortations, for the man had long since grown sick of privateering, and his main object in sailing for the east indies was the desire to find an opportunity to escape from a calling which he was honest enough to consider dishonourable.

they sighted guam on may 20th, 1686, and it was fortunate both for swan and dampier that the land hove in sight when it did, for they had scarcely enough provisions to last them another three days; and dampier declares, “i was afterwards informed the men had contrived first to kill captain swan and eat him when the victuals was gone, and after him all of us who were accessary in promoting the undertaking of this voyage. this made captain swan say to me after our arrival at guam, ah! dampier, you would have made them but a poor meal, for i was as lean as the captain was lusty and fleshy.” dampier's chapters are now wholly made up of description. he is copious in his accounts of the natives, of the cocoa-nut, the lime-tree, and the bread-fruit; and then carrying us on to mindanao, he fills many [pg 65] pages with lively remarks on the trade of the dutch, the climate, winds, tornadoes, and rains. it is manifest throughout that he is very unsettled, without any scheme of life, without a ghost of an idea as regards his future. he waits patiently but with a vigilant eye upon fortune, and is ready to address himself to any adventure, no matter how slender of promise. just as he would have carried the thousand negroes to darien to dig gold for himself and his associates, so whilst at the philippines would he have been glad to settle down among the mindanayans. there were sawyers, he tells us, carpenters, brickmakers, shoemakers, tailors, and the like, amongst the men, who were also well provided with all sorts of tools. they had a good ship, too, and he conceives that had they established themselves in that island they might have ended as a very flourishing and wealthy community. but his schemes served no other purpose than to enable him to digress in his narrative when he came to relate his adventures.

the ship lay so long at mindanao that the men grew weary and mutinous; some of them ran away into the country, others purchased a canoe designing to proceed to borneo. those of the ship's company who had money lived ashore, but there were many (dampier amongst them) who were without a halfpenny, and who were therefore obliged to remain on board and subsist on the wretched stores of the vessel. these fellows became very troublesome; they stole iron out of the ship and exchanged it for spirits and honey, of which they made punch, so that there was a great deal of drunkenness and ill-blood amongst them. finding that swan paid no heed to their request that he would start on further [pg 66] adventures, and discovering certain entries in the captain's journal which greatly incensed them, they resolved to run away with the ship; a threat there is every reason to suppose swan secretly wished them to carry out. he knew that the crew were bent on piracy, and that their next step must prove nothing but another buccaneering cruise. he had previously told dampier that he was forced into this business by his people, and that he only sought or awaited an opportunity to escape from it, adding bitterly, “that there was no prince on earth able to wipe off the stain of such actions.” he was apprised of his men's design, but does not appear to have lifted a finger to hinder them. on january 14th, 1687, early in the morning, dampier being on board, the crew weighed anchor and fired a gun, being yet willing to receive captain swan and others of their shipmates who were on shore. no answer was returned, whereupon without further ado they filled their topsails and started, leaving the commander and thirty-six men behind them.

the subsequent fate of swan and his men is worth a brief reference. they remained for some considerable time on the island, and then some of them managed to obtain a passage to batavia. captain swan and his surgeon, whilst rowing to a dutch ship that was to convey them to europe, were overset in their canoe by some natives, who stabbed them whilst they were swimming for their lives. others of the men who remained at mindanao were poisoned.

by this time dampier was as heartily weary as ever swan had been of the voyage, if not of privateering, and waited for a chance to give his comrades the slip. meanwhile the vessel, after cruising off manila, where [pg 67] they took a couple of spanish craft, proceeded from one island to another, from one port to another, until, the monsoon being close at hand, they decided to skirt the philippine islands, and, heading southwards towards what was then known as the spice islands, enter the indian ocean by way of timor. the object of all this roundabout navigation is not very plain. dampier asserts that the crew were in great fear of meeting with english or dutch ships; still it is difficult to understand their motive in straying so wide afield from the common maritime highways of that period. they were now on the australian parallels, in the shadow of a world lying dark upon the face of the ocean. as privateersmen they had little to hope or expect from pushing into regions full of mystery and peril. dampier says that being clear of the islands they stood off south, intending to touch at new holland “to see what that country would afford us.” one would wish for his dignity as a navigator that he had avowed, on his own part at least, a higher motive for the exploration. it does not seem to enter his head, at this point of his career at all events, that the discovery of the true character and area of the terra australis incognita might bring to the marine explorer of its rocky coasts honours scarcely less glorious, renown certainly not less enduring, than were won by the mightiest of the old navigators. it is proper to remember, however, that dampier was but a common sailor in this ship that had been run away with, and that his expectations, and perhaps his ambition, scarcely rose above those of a privateersman; though how far he resembled his shipmates in other directions we may gather from his narrative, which he builds [pg 68] wholly upon the journal he faithfully kept throughout; never remitting his strict practice of laborious observation whether in storm or in shine, whether amidst the bustle and activity of a chase, or the languor and listlessness of a long spell of tropical calm.

“new holland,” he says, “is a very large tract of land. it is not yet determined whether it is an island or a main continent; but i am certain that it joyns neither to africa, asia, or america.” why he is certain he does not tell us, but he is too sagacious to err, though whilst he thus thinks, all that he sees of the vast territory is “low land with sandy banks against the sea.” he devotes several pages to descriptions of the natives, telling us that they have no houses, that they go armed with a piece of wood shaped like a cutlass, that their speech is guttural, that in consequence of the flies which tease and sting their faces, they keep their eyelids half closed; and so forth. one extract from several pages of most admirable, quaint description will, i trust, be permitted.

“after we had been here a little while, the men began to be familiar, and we cloathed some of them, designing to have had some service from them for it: for we found some wells of water here, and intended to carry 2 or 3 barrels of it aboard. but it being somewhat troublesome to carry to the canaos, we thought to have made these men to have carry'd it for us, and therefore we gave them some cloathes; to one an old pair of breeches, to another a ragged shirt, to a third a jacket that was scarce worth owning; which yet would have been very acceptable at some places where we had been, and so we thought they might have been with these [pg 69] people. we put them on, thinking that this finery would have brought them to work heartily for us; and our water being filled in small long barrels, about 6 gallons in each, which were made purposely to carry water in, we brought these our new servants to the wells, and put a barrel on each of their shoulders for them to carry to the canao. but all the signs we could make were to no purpose, for they stood like statues, without motion, but grinn'd like so many monkeys, staring one upon another: for these poor creatures seem'd not accustomed to carry burdens: and i believe that one of our ship boys of 10 years old, would carry as much as one of them. so we were forced to carry our water ourselves; and they very fairly put the cloaths off again, and laid them down, as if the cloaths were only to work in. i did not perceive that they had any liking to them at first; neither did they seem to admire anything that we had.”

to the part of new holland these privateers touched at they gave no name. dampier speaks of the latitude of it being 16° 50', but his reckonings are not to be trusted. to judge by the tracings of the map of this portion of the world in his first volume, the coast which they first sighted was that of north australia, and they probably anchored off either bathurst or melville island. be this as it may, they did not linger long. dampier endeavoured to persuade the men to sail to some english factory, but in return for his advice they threatened to leave him ashore on the sands of new holland, “which,” says he, “made me desist.” they soon saw as much of terra incognita as satisfied them, and on march 12th, 1688, they weighed with the wind at north north-west [pg 70] and steered their ship northwards. they arrived at nicobar on may 5th, and here dampier resolved to leave the vessel. obtaining leave to go ashore, he was landed on the sandy beach of a small bay where stood two untenanted houses; but he had not enjoyed an hour of liberty when some armed men came from the ship to fetch him aboard again. resistance was as idle as entreaties, and he was forced to return; but on his arrival he found the vessel in an uproar. others, taking courage by his example, had also determined to leave the ship. amongst them was the surgeon. this man the captain flatly refused to part with, and the hubbub was great. all this confusion and quarrelling seems to have helped dampier, for, after a deal of squabbling, we find him and two others obtaining permission to quit the ship. they were put ashore with their effects, and entering one of the unoccupied houses, hung up their hammocks to prepare for the night. presently more men arrived, and they were now numerous enough to protect themselves against the natives. it was a fine clear, moonlight night, and the little company of buccaneers walked down to the beach to wait until the ship should weigh and be gone, fearing their liberty whilst she stayed. at twelve o'clock they heard her getting her anchor and making sail, and presently she was gliding slowly and silently seawards, glistening white against the ocean darkness to the rays of the high moon.

next day dampier and his associates purchased a canoe, and passed over to the south end of the island, where they victualled their little boat with fruit loaves, cocoa-nuts, and fresh water, so that when the monsoon came on to blow they might be in readiness to sail for [pg 71] acheen. it is consistent that a man who had traversed on foot the dangerous and poisonous isthmus of panama should parallel that accomplishment by a remarkable boat-voyage. the craft was a canoe of the size of a london wherry, deeper but not so broad, sharp after the whaling pattern at both ends, and so thin and light that when empty four men could lift her. she carried a mat-sail, and outriggers to prevent her from capsizing. in this little ark dampier and his shipmates embarked—eight men, four of whom were malays—and started for acheen on may 15th, 1688. the breezes were light, the atmosphere sultry. sometimes they rowed, sometimes left the sail to do its work, but at the end of two days, to their great mortification, they found the island of nicobar still in sight a little over twenty miles distant. on the 18th they remarked a great circle round the sun, an appearance that caused dampier to suppose that bad weather was at hand. his foreboding was true; wind and sea rose, and but for the outriggers the canoe must have been swamped. still the gale freshened, and there was nothing for it but to scud. there occurs here a characteristic passage. it reads like an extract from robinson crusoe, and nothing in all dampier so conclusively proves the source whence defoe drew the colours which he employed in the composition of his chief and most engaging work.

“the evening of this 18th day was very dismal. the sky looked very black, being covered with dark clouds, the wind blew very hard, and the seas ran very high. the sea was already roaring in a white foam about us; a dark night coming on and no land in sight to shelter us, and our little ark in danger to [pg 72] be swallowed by every wave; and what was worse for us all, none of us thought ourselves prepared for another world. the reader may better guess, than i can express, the confusion that we were all in. i have been in many eminent dangers before now, some of which i have already related, but the worst of them all was but a play-game in comparison with this. i must confess that i was in great conflicts of mind at this time. other dangers came not upon me with such a leisurely and dreadful solemnity: a sudden skirmish or engagement, or so, was nothing when one's blood was up, and push'd forward with eager expectations. but here i had a lingering view of approaching death, and little or no hopes of escaping it; and i must confess that my courage which i had hitherto kept up, failed me here; and i made very sad reflections on my former life; and looked back with horrour and detestation on actions which before i disliked, but now i trembled at the remembrance of. i had long before this repented me of that roving course of my life, of which kind, i believe, few men have met with the like. for all these i returned thanks in a peculiar manner, and this once more desir'd god's assistance, and composed my mind as well as i could, in the hopes of it, and as the event shew'd, i was not disappointed of my hopes.”

but dampier was a thoroughbred seaman. the canoe was superbly handled, and after a terrible time of violent storms the low land of sumatra was descried on the morning of the 20th. fever-stricken by the excessive hardships and fatigues they had endured, insomuch that they were too weak to stand up in their canoe, our adventurers drifted into a river, and were [pg 73] supported by some natives to an adjacent village. here dampier stayed for ten or twelve days in the hope of recovering his health, but finding that he did not improve, he made his way to acheen, where he was so dosed by a malay doctor that he came very near to expiring. on regaining his health, he entered with captain weldon of the ship curtana for a voyage to tonquin. the first part of his second volume is devoted to a description of his travels in tonquin, acheen, malacca, and other places. [13] there is but little narrative, nevertheless the work is singularly interesting, and as literally accurate as a chinese painting.

dampier was very willing to accept captain weldon's offer of this voyage, as the vessel carried a surgeon whose advice he was in great need of. moreover weldon promised to purchase a sloop at tonquin and make him master of her for a trading voyage to cochin china. nothing noteworthy marked their passage. on their arrival at the bay of tonquin they navigated the ship about twenty miles up the river and anchored. the chief markets and trade of the country were then at cachao, a city eighty miles distant from the highest point at which the river is navigable by vessels of burthen. dampier, in company with the captains of [pg 74] other ships, proceeded in large boats towards cachao. it was scarcely more than a jaunt for our hero, whose main business in going the journey was to talk over the proposed voyage to cochin china with the chief of the english factory. dampier remained for a week with the englishmen at the factory, and then returned to his own ship, “where,” says he, “i lay on board for a great while, and sickly for the most part; yet not so but that i took a boat and went ashoar one where or other almost every day.” the result of this intrepid observation is a full and interesting account of tonquin, the habits and customs of the people, their attire, sports, punishments, religion, and literature. his health hindered him from several undertakings which he might have pursued with advantage. for example, rice being dear at cachao, weldon hired a vessel to procure that commodity at adjacent places to supply the markets. it was a speculation by which dampier might have got money, but he was too ill to bear a part in it. he lay five or six weeks in a miserable condition, then flattered himself that he was sufficiently recovered to go on a walking tour through the country. to this end he hired a native guide, who charged him a dollar for his services, “which,” he says, “tho' but a small matter, was a great deal out of my pocket, who had not above 2 dollars in all, which i had gotten on board by teaching some of our young seamen plain sailing.” he started about the end of november 1688, and the proverbial heedlessness of the seaman is not less suggested by his poverty than by his resolution to attempt such a trip as this. he has but a dollar in his pocket with which not only to bear his own but his guide's charges, and yet he is fully aware that [pg 75] his weakness is bound to increase the cost of his travels by obliging him to proceed by short stages. he says he was weary of lying still and impatient to see something that might further gratify his curiosity. they took the east side of the river, and trudged along mutely enough, as we may suppose, since the guide could not speak a word of english, whilst dampier did not understand a syllable of tonquinese. at the villages they arrived at they were sufficiently fortunate to procure rooms to sleep in and a couch of split bamboos to lie on. the people treated dampier very civilly; they cooked his repasts of rice for him, and lent him whatever they had that was serviceable to him. his practice was to ramble about all day, and return to his lodging when it was too dark to see anything more. his luggage was small—limited to what he terms a “sea-gown,” which his guide carried, and which served him as a blanket at night, whilst his pillow was often a log of wood. “but,” he says, “i slept very well, though the weakness of my body did now require better accommodation.”

on the afternoon of the third day of his travels he arrived in view of a small wooden tower such as the tonquinese erect as funeral pyres to persons of distinction. he had never seen such a thing before, and as his guide could not talk to him, he continued ignorant of its meaning. there was a crowd of men and boys near it, and he also noticed a number of stalls covered with meat and fruit. he very naturally concluded that it was a market-place, and entered the crowd partly with the intention of inspecting the tower, and partly with the idea of purchasing a dish of meat for his supper. after satisfying his curiosity he approached the stalls [pg 76] and laid hold of a joint of meat, motioning to a person whom he supposed was the salesman to cut off a piece that should weigh two or three pounds. in an instant the crowd fell upon him. they struck out at him right and left, tore his clothes and ran away with his hat. the guide, shrieking unintelligible protests and apologies, dragged dampier away, but they were followed for some distance by a number of surly-looking fellows whose cries and gesticulations were full of menace. it was not until long afterwards that dampier gathered the meaning of all this; when he was informed that what he had taken to be a market was a funeral feast, and that the tower was a tomb which was to be consumed along with the body in it after the feast was over. “this,” says he, “was the only funeral feast that ever i was at amongst them, and they gave me cause to remember it: but this was the worst usage i received from any of them all the time that i was in the country.”

two days later he arrived at a town called hean, where he was received in a very friendly manner by a priest attached to the french bishop; this place, it seems, being the headquarters of the missionaries. after some conversation the priest inquired if any of the english ships would sell him some gunpowder. dampier answered that he believed none of them had powder to spare. the father then inquired if he knew how gunpowder was made. on dampier answering in the affirmative he begged him to try his hand. the priest had all the ingredients with the necessary machinery for mixing them, so after drinking a few glasses of wine dampier went to work. “the priest,” he says, “brought me sulphur and salt-peter, and i weighed a portion of [pg 77] each of these, and of coals i gathered up in the hearth and beat to powder. while his man mixed these in a little engine, i made a small sieve of parchment, which i pricked full of holes with a small iron made hot, and this was to corn it. when it was dry we proved it, and it answered our expectation.” there is something not a little odd and impressive in this picture of the buccaneer manufacturing gunpowder at the request of a holy father, who watches him with the utmost anxiety as if he were sensible that the propagation of his faith amongst the mustard-coloured masses of tonquin must depend a good deal upon the success of dampier's experiment. it was fish-day at the palace, but the priest was so well pleased with dampier and his gunpowder and his conversation that he ordered a fowl to be broiled for his dinner, and when the night came procured a lodging for him in a house kept by a tonquinese christian hard by.

next morning dampier dismissed his guide and started for cachao by water. he describes the boat as of the size of a gravesend wherry, with a kind of awning to shelter the passengers when it rained. the sailors rowed all night, turn and turn about. at midnight everybody went ashore to sup at some houses by the river-side; the owners of which waited for them with lighted candles, arrack, and tea, dishes of meat and other provisions ready cooked. here they stayed an hour, then entered the boat afresh and pushed onwards. the passengers were a merry lot. they laughed incessantly and sang heartily, though dampier says their singing resembled the noise of people crying. ignorant of the language, he sat mute amongst these jolly travellers. [pg 78] next morning he was put ashore a few miles short of cachao. there was a good path, and stepping out briskly he entered the city by noon. he immediately repaired to the house of an english merchant with whom captain weldon lodged, and stayed with him a few days, but he was so enfeebled by a wasting disorder which had fastened upon him that he was scarcely able to crawl about. his illness was exasperated by disappointment, for he now discovered that he had made his walking journey only to learn that weldon had abandoned his scheme to purchase a sloop to trade to cochin china. the moment he felt strong enough to travel he returned to his ship, and captain weldon shortly afterwards joining the vessel, they weighed anchor and sailed from tonquin. it was now february, 1689. nothing of moment happened during the passage to the straits of malacca. the ship arrived at acheen about the beginning of march, where dampier took leave of weldon and went ashore. he gives in this volume of his travels a long and interesting account of acheen, and in describing the soil of the country prints the following brief passage of recollection. “the champion land, such as i have seen, is some black, some grey, some reddish, and all of a deep mold. but to be very particular in these things, especially in my travels, is more than i can pretend to, tho' it may be i took as much notice of the difference of soil as i met with it as most travellers have done, having been bred in my youth in somersetshire, at a place called east coker, near yeovil or evil: in which parish there is a great variety of soil as i have ordinarily met with anywhere, viz. black, red, yellow, sandy, stony, clay, morass, or swampy, [pg 79] etc. i had the more reason to take notice of this, because this village in a great measure is let out in small leases for lives of 20, 30, 40 or 50 pound per ann., under coll. helliar, the lord of the mannor: and most, if not all these tenants, had their own land scattered in small pieces up and down several sorts of land in the parish; so that every one had piece of every sort of land, his black ground, his sandy, clay, and some of 20, 30, or 40 shillings an acre. my mother, being possest of one of these leases, and having all these sorts of land, i came acquainted with them all, and knew what each sort would produce (viz.) wheat, barley, maslin, rice, beans, peas, oats, fetches, flax, or hemp: in all which i had a more than useful knowledge for one so young, taking a particular delight in observing it.” vague as is this reference to his shore-going life, it is the only passage of the kind that i have met in his books, and for this reason therefore i reproduce it at length.

whilst he was at acheen some of the people rebelled against the choice that had been made of a queen. dampier, with others, hastened to take shelter in the ships in the road, fearing that if the rebels obtained the upper hand they would imprison him. he had indeed good cause to dread the effects of a prison upon his constitution, shaken and almost shattered as it was by long illness. there were two vessels at anchor, one of them fresh from england and short of provisions. he in consequence boarded the other, whose stores were tolerably plentiful, but she was so crowded with cargo that he could not find space to swing his hammock in; and as repose was absolutely essential to him, he carried [pg 80] his bed into the boat that had brought him off and lay in her for three or four days, fed by the people of the ship. he could obtain no rest. there happened a total eclipse of the moon, at which he gazed from the bottom of his boat, but he says: “i was so little curious that i remembered not so much as what day of the month it was, and i kept no journal of this voyage as i did of my other; but only kept an account of several particular remarks and observations as they occurred to me.” when the disturbance ashore was quieted he returned to his lodging, and learning that the natives regarded the water of their river as charged with medicinal virtues, he determined to bathe in it, and after a few baths was so much benefited that he was able to get about again. in may, 1689, he took charge of a sloop that had been purchased by one captain tyler; but when the craft was loaded, the owner changed his mind and gave the command to a man named minchin, who offered dampier the post of mate. “i was forced to submit,” he says bitterly, “and accepted a mate's employ under captain minchin.” they sailed in the middle of september for malacca, at which place some of the people left minchin to join another vessel that had been in company, so that dampier and the captain were the only two white sailors on board. shortly after starting they carried away their foreyard and brought up off a small island owned by the dutch. dampier called upon the governor to request his permission to cut down a tree. our hero, as an old campeché man, was not likely to be at a loss; and leaving the tree ready to be carried to the ship, he returned to the fort, dined with the governor, and then went aboard. shortly afterwards his [pg 81] captain, together with a passenger and his wife, came ashore. the fare of the fort was exceedingly meagre, and the governor, to entertain his guests, sent a boat to catch a dish of fish. the fish, on being cooked, was served in dishes of solid silver, and eaten from plates of the same metal; whilst in the centre of the table was placed a great silver bowl full of punch. it was to prove but little better than a barmecide's feast. the governor, his guests, and several officers attached to the fort seated themselves, but as they were about to begin a soldier outside roared, “the malays!” the governor, starting from his chair, leapt out of one of the windows, the officers followed, and all was consternation and uproar. “every one of them,” says dampier, “took the nearest way, some out of the windows, others out of the doors, leaving the three guests by themselves, who soon followed with all the haste they could make, without knowing the meaning of this sudden consternation of the governor and his people.” all being in the fort, the door was bolted, and several volleys fired to let the malays know that the dutch were in readiness for them. the alarm was real enough. a large malay canoe, filled with men armed to the teeth, had been noticed skulking under the island close to the shore. the captain and the passengers hastened on board, the vessel's guns were loaded and primed for service, and a bright look-out kept all night. dampier, however, was not very much frightened. it rained heavily, and he knew from experience that the malays seldom or never made any attack in wet weather. next morning nothing was to be seen of the enemy, and having rigged up the foreyard, dampier and his companions set sail for [pg 82] acheen. here he was seized with a fever, which confined him to his bed for a fortnight. on regaining his health he returned to the vessel with orders to take charge of her, and on new year's day, 1690, sailed for fort st. george with a cargo of pepper and other produce. his description of madras as it then showed, now two hundred years ago, is interesting. “i was much pleased,” he says, “with the beautiful prospect this place makes off at sea. for it stands in a plain sandy spot of ground, close by the shore, the sea sometimes washing its walls; which are of stone and high, with half-moons and flankers and a great many guns mounted on the battlements: so that what with the walls and fine buildings within the fort, the large town of maderas without it, the pyramids of the english tombs, houses, and gardens adjacent, and the variety of fine trees scatter'd up and down, it makes as agreeable a landskip as i have anywhere seen.” he tells us that he stayed at this place for some months, where he met with a mr. moody, who had purchased what dampier calls a painted prince named jeoly. then in july he sailed with a captain howel for sumatra.

he arrived at acheen in april, 1689, and afterwards obtained a berth as gunner at bencoolen, then an english factory. after some further adventures of no importance, we find him again gunner of the fort at bencoolen, at a salary of twenty-four dollars a month. but it was not long before he grew dissatisfied with the conduct of the governor, and asked to be released. he was also eager to return to england. first of all he had been a long time absent from his native country, and next, he was in possession of the painted prince whom mr. moody [pg 83] had purchased at mindanao for sixty dollars, and he expected on his return to england to make a good deal of money by exhibiting this unhappy black, of whose tatooings he gives a very minute account. it seems strange that such a man as dampier should have been unable to hit upon a better way of gaining a livelihood than by proposing to turn showman in his own country, with nothing better to exhibit than a poor, miserable black man, whose only wonder lay in having rings and bracelets, crosses, and a variety of unmeaning flourishes pricked into his skin. the governor was, however, by no means willing to let him go, and dampier at last was obliged to obtain by a stratagem what was denied him as a right. on january 2nd, 1691, a ship named the defence, bound for england, dropped anchor in bencoolen road. dampier made the acquaintance of her master, a man named heath, who readily complied with his request to receive him on board. jeoly was first carefully shipped, and then one midnight dampier crept through a porthole of the fort and ran to the beach, where he found a boat waiting to convey him to the defence. nothing that is noteworthy happened during the passage home. the ship entered the english channel in september, 1691, and on the 16th of the same month “we lufft in,” says dampier, “for the downs, where we anchored.”

thus terminated william dampier's first voyage round the world. dating from virginia, august 22nd, 1683, his circumnavigation had occupied eight years; but his previous seafaring experiences, counting from the period of his starting from england in the loyal merchant in 1679, enlarged his absence to the long space of twelve [pg 84] years. beyond greatly extending his knowledge, his travels had done nothing for him. he had started in quest of fortune, and had found her as phantasmal as the st. elmo's fire at which he had gazed with wonder at the masthead. and all that he brought home in the shape of property was the unhappy prince jeoly, whom he sold after his arrival in the thames, being in want of money—to such a pass had buccaneering and the circumnavigation of the globe brought him.