to stop her leaks, while the boats caught so many fish, that we salted the fill of five puncheons.  I could find no marks of Captain Clipperton having been here for a long time; but at length some of my men saw accidentally the words Magee and Captain John cut upon a tree.  Magee was the name of Clipperton’s surgeon, but no directions were left, as agreed upon in his instructions to me, so that it was evident he never meant I should keep him company, or ever join him again.

[Footnote 264:  The difference of longitude between Conception and Juan Fernandez is six degrees of longitude W. and, consequently, 360 minutes or marine miles.—­E.]

Being by this certified of the arrival of Clipperton in the South Sea, I directly made the best of my way from Juan Fernandez, being in a pretty good condition as to provisions, by the additional stock of fish caught here, all our casks being filled.  On the 21st, while sailing along there with the design of looking into Copiapo, I put Mr Dodd, second lieutenant of marines, into the Mercury, with a reinforcement of eight men, and sent her next evening to cruize close in with the land, while I kept with the Speedwell in the offing, to prevent being discovered from the land.  On this occasion I took care to give the officer commanding the Mercury a copy of my commission, with all necessary instructions how to proceed, appointing the Moro, or head-land of Copiapo, to be our place of meeting.  The business of the Mercury was to look into the port of Copiapo, called Caldera,[265] near which there are some gold-mines, and from whence considerable quantities of gold are exported in small vessels; and our bark had the advantage of being of that country build, so that she could not excite suspicion.  Next day I hove in sight of the head-land of Copiapo, and lay to the southward, that I might not be seen from that port, which is to the northward of the Moro de Copiapo.  While here, opposite a small island which lies athwart the mouth of Copiapo river, I sent the pinnace to fish between that isle and the main, and soon after saw a vessel crowding all sail towards us.  She at first seemed too large for the Mercury, yet turned out to be her; when the officer told me he had looked into the port, but could see no shipping; but he had looked into a wrong place, and having made him sensible of his error, I sent him again to the right place, which was about six leagues farther north.

[Footnote 265:  The port of Caldera, or English harbour, is about twelve or fifteen miles to the N. of Copiapo river, having a considerable interposed promontory.—­E.]