hearing of Captain Swan's being at
Valdivia ordered the money ashore again.

On September 20 we came to the island of Plata, so named, as some
report, after Sir Francis Drake took the Cacafuego--a ship chiefly laden
with plate, which they say he brought hither and divided with his men.
Near it we took an Indian village called Manta, but found no sort of
provision, the viceroy having sent orders to all seaports to keep none,
but just to supply themselves. At La Plata arrived Captain Swan, in the
Cygnet, of London. He was fitted out by very eminent merchants of that
city on a design only to trade with Spaniards or Indians; but, meeting
with divers disappointments, and being out of hopes to obtain a trade in
these seas, his men forced him to entertain a company of privateers, who
had come overland under the command of Captain Peter Harris. Captains
Davis and Swan sent our small barque to look for Captain Eaton, the isle
of Plata to be the general rendezvous; and on November 2 we landed 110
men to take the small Spanish seaport town of Payta. The governor of
Piura had come the night before to Payta with a hundred armed men to
oppose our landing, but our men marched directly to the fort and took it
without the loss of one man, whereupon the governor of Piura, with all
his men, and the inhabitants of the town, ran away as fast as they
could. Then our men entered the town, and found it emptied both of money
and goods. There was not so much as a meal of victuals left for them. We
anchored before the town, and stayed till the sixth day in hopes to get
a ransom. Our captains demanded 300 packs of flour, 300 lb. of sugar,
twenty-five jars of wine, and a thousand jars of water, but we got
nothing of it. Therefore Captain Swan ordered the town to be fired.

Once in three years the Spanish Armada comes to Porto Bello, then the
Plate Fleet also from Lima comes hither with the king's treasure, and
abundance of merchant ships, full of goods and plate. With other
privateers we formed the plan, in 1685, of attacking the Armada and
capturing the treasure. On May 28 we saw the Spanish fleet three leagues
from the island of Pacheque--in all fourteen sail, besides periagoes.
Our fleet consisted of but ten sail. Yet we were not discouraged, but
resolved to fight them, for being to windward, we had it in our choice
whether we would fight or not. We bore down right afore the wind upon
our enemies, but night came on without anything besides the e