Page 114
An.1684
Nicoya.
Spaniards, and that they lived among Spaniards, and that altho they were born there, yet they had never seen 3 Ships there before: Our men told them, that neither now might they have seen so many, if it had not been on an urgent occasion. At length they drill d them by discourse so near, that our men lay d hold on all three at once; but before Captain Cook was buried, one of them made his escape, the other two were brought off aboard our Ship. Cap- tain Eaton immediately came aboard and examined them; they confessed that they came purposely to view our Ship, and if possible, to inform themselves what we were; for the President of Panama not long before, sent a Letter of advice to Nicoya, in- forming the Magistrates thereof, that some Enemies were come into these Seas, and that therefore it behoved them to be careful of themselves. Ni- coya is a small Mulatto Town, about 12 or 13 leagues East from hence, standing on the Banks of a River of that name. It is a place very fit for building Ships, therefore most of the Inhabitants are Carpenters; who are commonly employed in building new, or repairing old Ships. It was here that Captain Sharp (just after I left him, in the year 1681,) got Car- penters to fix his Ship, before he returned for En- gland: and for that reason it behoved the Spaniards to be careful, (according to the Governor of Panama's advice,) left any men at other times wanting such necessaries as that place afforded, might again be supplied there. These Spanish Indians told us likewise, that they were sent to the place where they were ta- ken, in order to view our Ships, as fearing these were those mentioned by the President of Panama: It being demanded of them to give an account of the Estate and Riches of the Country, they said that the Inhabitants were most Husbandmen, who were employed either in Planting and Manuring of Corn, or chiefly about Cattle; they having large Savan- nahs,