We arrived at Gorgona on the 13th June, where we anchored in forty fathoms, and resolved to careen our two ships in succession, beginning with the Duchess.  Our sick men were removed into the galleon, and the sick officers to the French-built ship.  We landed tents for the cooper’s and armourer’s crews, and cleared a place for tents to accommodate the sick on shore.  All this was performed with so much diligence, that by the 28th both ships were careened, caulked, rigged, and restored fit for sea.  On the 29th, we set up tents ashore for the sick, who were already much recovered, though the Spaniards had represented this island as unhealthy; yet by walking about on shore they soon gathered strength enough to return to their duty.  We here fitted out the French-built ship, with twenty guns, putting Captain Cooke into her, with a crew taken from the other two ships, resolving to carry her home with us, and to employ her as a third cruizer while in these seas; and this great work employed us from the 29th June to the 9th July, calling her the Marquis.  She had thirty-five men from the Duke and twenty-six from the Duchess, making a crew of sixty-one British, to which were added twenty negroes.

Our next care was to get rid of our prisoners, who were a great burden to us, and we resolved therefore to set them on shore, after trying every possible method to engage them in a scheme for trading with us.  For this purpose I proposed going to Panama, to remain six days near that place, till they should bring the money we could agree for, as the price of our prize goods; and to this the two Morels and Don Antonio agreed, provided we would take 60,000 dollars for the whole.  I then proposed to give them up the galleon and all the goods and negroes, if they would give us 120,000 dollars for the whole.  They told us that trading in these seas with strangers, especially the English and Dutch, was so rigidly prohibited, that they would have to give more than the original cost in bribes, to procure licence to deal with us, and could not therefore assure us of payment, unless we agreed to take a low price.  Finding it therefore not worth while to waste time, and knowing we should run much risk in treating with them, we at length resolved to set them all ashore, hoping the Morels and Don Antonio would get money for us, to prevent us from burning the ships we could not conveniently carry away.  At parting, I made them sensible that we had treated them like generous enemies, and said we would sell them good bargains for what money they might be able to bring us in ten days, after which we should burn or carry away all that was not then disposed of.  We accordingly landed seventy-two prisoners on the 10th July.  On the 16th the Morels came off with what money they had been able to procure, and bought some of our goods, behaving with much honour, and putting great confidence in us.  On the 18th, a negro belonging to the Duchess was bitten by a small