brown speckled snake, and died in twelve hours.  There are many snakes in this island of Gorgona, and I saw one above three yards long, and as thick as my leg.  The same morning the Mr Morels went off a second time in our bark for money; and this day one of the same kind of snakes that killed our negro was found on the forecastle of the Duke, having crawled up the cable, as we supposed, as they were often seen in the water.

On the 2d of August we were like to have had a mutiny, for the steward informed me that he understood many of the men had entered into a secret agreement, and he had heard some ringleaders boasting that sixty men had already signed the paper, but knew not the nature of their design.  I immediately convened the officers in the cabin, where we armed ourselves, and soon secured four of the principal mutineers, putting the fellow who wrote the paper in irons.  By this time all the people were on deck, and we had got their paper from those we had in custody; the purport of it being to refuse accepting the intended distribution of plunder, and not to move from this place, till they had what they termed justice done them.  Not knowing how far this mutiny might have been concerted with the people of the other ships, we agreed to 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