Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/voyageroundworld00walt_1 A VOYAGE R O U N D THE; WORLD, In the Years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV. B Y GEORGE ANSON, Efq; Now LORD ANSON, Commander in Chief of a Squadron of His Majefty’s Ships, fent upon an Expedition to the South-Seas . / COMPILED From his PAPERS and MATERIALS, By RICHARD WALTER, M. A. Chaplain of his M A j e st y’s Ship the Centurion , in that Expedition, Illuftrated with Forty-Two COPPER-PLATES. The Fifth Edition. LONDON: Printed for the AUTHOR; By John and Paul Knap ton, in Ludgate-Street. Mdccxlix, fax' l T O HIS GRACE JOHN* DUKE of BEDFORD, MARQUIS of TAVISTO C IF, EARL of BEDFORD ? BARON RV S S E L, BARON R V S S E L of 'Thornhaugh, AND BARON HOWLAtiD of Streatham^ One of His Majefty’s Principal Secretaries of State ; and Lord -Lieutenant, and Cuftos Rotulorum of the County of Bedford, My L 0 R D, f H E following Narrative of a very lingular na- II val atcliievement is addrefled to Your Grac e,, both on account of the infinite obligations which the Commander in Chief at all times profefles A 2 to DEDICATION. to have received from your Friendfhip'; and alio, aa the Subject itfelf naturally claims the patronage of One> under whole direction, the Britijh Navy has refumed its ancient Spirit and Ludre, and has in one lummer ennobled itfelf by two victories, the moft decilive, and ( if the drength and number of the captures be con- fideredj the mod: important, that are to be met with in our Annals. Indeed, an uninterrupted feries of fuccefs, and a manifed fuperiority gained univerfally over the enemy, both in commerce and glory, feem to be the necelfary effedts of a revival of dried difeipline, and of an unbiased regard to merit and fervice. Thefe are marks that mud didinguilh the happy period of time in which Your Gra ce prefided, and afford a fitter fubjedt for hidory, than for an addrefs of this nature. Very fignal advantages of rank and didinc- tion, obtained and fecured to the -naval profeflxon by Your Grace’s aufpicious influence, will remain a lading monument of Your unwearied zeal and at- tachment to it, and be for ever remembred with the highefl gratitude, by all who fhall be employed in it. As thefe were the generous rewards of pad exploits, they will be like wife the nobled incentives, and fured pledges of the future. That Your Grace’s - eminent talents, magnanimity, and difintereded zeal, whence dedication: "whence the Public has already reaped fuch fignal benefits, may in all times prove equally fiicccfsful iii advancing the profperity of Great - Britain, is the ardent wifh of, My LORD, Your Grace’s Moft obedient* Moft devoted. AND Moft humble Servant* RICHARD WALTER. CONTENTS. o BOOK L CHAP. I. F the equipment of the fquadron : The incidents relating thereto , from its firfl appointment to its fetting fail from JSt. Helens, Page i CHAP. U. The paffage from St. Helens to the If and of Madera, with a fhort account of that If and, and of our flay there , 14, CHAP. III. The hi/lory of the Spanifb fquadron commanded by Don Jofeph Pizarro, 20 CHAP. IV.. From Madera to St. Catherine’s, 34 CHAP. V. Proceedings at St. Catherine’s, and a defcription of the. place , with a fhort account of Brazil, 4,2 CHAP. VI. The run from St. Catherine’s to port St. Julian, with fome account of that port , and of the country to the fouthward of the river of Plate, 57 CHAP. VII. Departure from the bay of St. Julian, and the paffage from thence to St r eights Le Maire, 70 CHAP. VIIL From Sir eights Le Maire to Cape Noir, 76 CHAP. IX. Objervations and directions for facilitating the paffage of our future Cr uifers round Cape Horn, 84 CHAP. Page 98* CONTENTS, CHAP. X. From Cape Noir to the IJland of Juan Fernandes, BOOK II. CHAP. I. The arrival of the Centurion at the Ifland of Juan Fernandes 5 with a defer ipt ion of that If and, 109 CHAP. II. Fdhe arrival of the Oloucefter and the Anna Pink at the If and of Juan Fernandes, and the tranfahlions at that place during this interval, 127 : C HAP. III. A fhort narrative of what befel the Anna Pink before fe joined us, with an account of the lofs of the Wager, and of the putting back of the Severn and Pearl, the two remaining flips of the flua dr on, 138 C H A P. IV. Conclufon of our proceedings at Juan Fernandes, from the arrival of the Anna Pink, to our final departure from thence, 136 CHAP, V. Our cruife from the time of our leaving Juan Fernandes, to the taking the town of Paita, 170 C H A P. VI. • \ The taking of Paita, and our proceedings there , 189 CHAP. VII. From our departure from Paita, to our arrival at Quibo, 207 CHAP. VIII. Our proceedings at Quibo, with an account of the place, 2 1 6 CHAP. IX. From Quibo to the coaf 0/" Mexico, 224 CHAP. C O N 1 T E N ; T S. CHAP. X. of the commerce carried on between the city ^Manila wr the If and of Luconia, Acapulco on the coa(l of Mexico, , Page 232 CHAP. XI. Our cruife off the port of Acapulco/or the Manila/ np } 249 CHAP. XII. Defcription of the harbour of Chequetan, and of the adjacent coafi and country , 259 CHAP. XI IL Our proceedings at Chequetan, and on the adjacent - coafl i till our fetting fail for Aha, 269 C H A P. XIV. A brief account of what might- have been expected from our fquadron , had it arrived in the South-Seas- in good time, 279 BOOK III. CHAP. I. The run from the coajl of Mexico to the Ladrones or Marian Ifiands, 291 C H A P. IT. Our arrival at Tinian, and an account of the Ifiand, and of our proceedings there , till the Centurion drove out to fea, 304 CHAP. III. Tranfattions at Tinian after the departure of the Centurion, 320 CHAP. IV. Proceedings on board the Centurion, when driven out to fea, 330 CHAP. V. Employment at Tinian, till the final departure of the Centurion from thence j with a defcription of the Ladrones, 334 • C H A P. CONTENTS, CHAP. VI prom Tinian to Macao, C • . • Page 345 CHAP. vn. Proceedings at Macao, 353 CHAP. VIII. Prom Macao to Cape Efpiritu Santo galeon t and returning back again. : Phe takhig of the Manila 37 ° CHAP. IX. Pranfadtions in the river of Canton, 386 CHAP. X. Proceedings at the city of Canton, and the return of the Centurion to England, 402 (a ) 1 N T R 0~ INTRODUCTION. N OTWITHSTANDING the great improvement of na- vigation within the laft two Centuries, a Voyage round the World is Hill conftdered as an enterprize of fo very fingu- lar a nature, that the Public have never failed to be extremely in- quifitive about the various accidents and turns of fortune, with which this uncommon attempt is generally attended. And though the amufement expedted in thefe narrations, is doubtlefs one great fource of that curiofity, with the bulk of readers ; yet the more intelligent part of mankind have always agreed, that from ac- counts of this nature, if faithfully executed, the more important purpofes of navigation, commerce, and national intereft may be greatly promoted : For every authentic defcription of foreign coafts and countries will contribute to one or more of thefe great ends, in proportion to the wealth, wants, or commodities of thofe countries, and our ignorance of thofe coafts ; and therefore a Voyage round the World promifes a fpecies of information of all others the moil defirable and interefting j lince great part of it is performed in feas, with which we are as yet but very imperfectly acquainted, and in the neighbourhood of a country renowned for the abundance of its wealth, though it is at the fame time ftigma- tifed for its poverty, in the neceftaries and conveniencies of a civilized life. Thefe confiderations have occafioned the compiling the enfuing work ; which, in gratifying the inquifitive difpofition of man- kind, and contributing to the fafety and fuccefs of future navigators, and to the extenlion of our commerce and power, may doubtlefs vie with any narration of this kind hitherto made public : Since as to the firft of thefe heads it may well be fuppofed that the general curiofity hath been ftrongly excited by the circumftances of INTRODUCTION. of this undertaking already known to the world ; for whether we confider the force of the fquadron fent on this fervice, or the di- verfified diftrefles that each Angle fhip was feparately involved in* or the uncommon inftances of varying fortune, which attended the whole enterprise, each of thefe articles, I conceive, muft, from its rude, well-known outlines, appear worthy of a compleater and more finilhed delineation : And if this be allowed with refpeCt to the narrative part of the work, there can be no doubt about the more ufeful and inftruCtive parts, which are almoft every where inter- woven with it ; for I can venture to affirm, without fear of being contradicted on a comparifon, that no voyage hitherto publifhed, furniffies fuch a number of views of land, foundings, draughts of roads and ports, charts, and other materials, for the improvement of geography and navigation, as are contained in the enfuing volume; which are the more valuable too, as the greateft part of them re- late to fuch Iflands or Coafts, as have been hitherto not at all, or erroneoufly defcribed, and where the want of fufficient and authen- tic information might occafion future enterprizes to prove abor- tive, perhaps with the deftruCtion of the ffiips and men employed therein. And befides the number and choice of thefe marine drawings and defcriptions, there is another very effential circumftance belonging to them, which much enhances their worth ; and that is, the great accuracy with which they were executed. I ffiall exprefs my opinion of them in this particular very imperfectly, when I fay, that they are not exceeded, and perhaps not equalled by any thing of this nature which hath as yet been communicated to the world ; For they were not copied from the Avorks of others, or compofed at home from imperfeCt accounts, given by incurious and unfkilful cbfervers, (a practice too frequent in thefe matters) but the greateft part of them were delineated on the fpot, with the utmoft exaCt- nefs, by the direction, and under the eye of Mr. Anfon himfelf ; and where (as is the cafe in three or four of them) they have been done by lefs ikilful hands, or were found in poffeffion of tire enemy, ( a 2 ) and INTRODUCTION. and confequently their juftnefs could be lefs relied on, I have always taken care to apprize the reader of it, and to put him on his guard; again# giving entire credit to them ; although I doubt not, but thefe lefs authentic draughts, thus cautioufly inlerted, are to the full as corredt as thofe,. which are ufually publifhed on thefe occaiions. For as adtual furveys of roads and harbours, and nice and critical delineations of views of land, take up much time and attention, and require a good degree of fkill both in planning and drawing, thofe who are defective in induflry and ability,, fupply thefe wants by bold conjectures, and fictitious defcriptions ; and as they can be no otherwife confuted than by going-on the fpot, and running the rifque of differing by their mifinformation, they have no apprehenfions of being detected j and therefore, when they intrude their fuppofititious productions on the Public, they make no confcience of boafling at the fame time, with how much fkill and care they are performed. But let not thofe who are unacquainted with naval affairs imagine, that impofitions of this kind are of an innocent nature j for as exact views of land are the fureft guide to a feaman, on a coaft where he has never been before, all fictions in fo interefting a matter mufl be attended with numerous dangers, and fometimes with the deftruc- tion of thofe who are thus unhappily deceived. Befides thefe draughts of fuch places as Mr .Anfon or the fhips- under his command have touched at in the courfe of this expedition, and the defcriptions and directions relating thereto, there is inferred, in the enfuing work, an ample account, with a chart annexed to it, of a particular navigation, of which hitherto little more than the name has been known, except to thofe immediately employed in it : I mean the Jrack defcribed by the Manila fhip, in her paf- fage to Acapulco , through the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. This material article is collected from the draughts and journals met with oil board the Manila galeon, founded on the experience of more than a hundred and fifty years practice, and corroborated in its principal circumflances by the concurrent evidence of all the Spa - nifh prifoners taken in that veffel. And as many of their journals, which INTRODUCTION. which I have examined, appear to have been not ill kept • I pre- fume, the chart of that northern Ocean, and the particulars of their route through it, may be very fafely relied on by future Navigators. The advantages, which may be drawn from an exadt knowledge of this navigation, and the beneficial projects that may be formed thereon, both in war and peace, are by no means proper to be dif- cuffed in this place : But they will eafily offer themfelves to the fkilful in maratime affairs. However, as the Manila fhips are the only ones which have ever traverfed this vaft ocean, except a French ftraggler or two, which have been afterwards feized on the coaft of Mexico , and as during near two ages, in which this trade has been carried on, the Spaniards have, with the greateft care, fecreted all accounts of their voyages from the reft of the world - } thefe reafons alone would authorize the infertion of thofe papers, and would recommend them to the inqufitive, as a very great improvement in geography, and worthy of attention from the Angularity of many circumftances therein recited. I muft add too, (what in my opi- nion is far from being the leaft recommendation of thefe materials) that the obfervations of the variation of the compafs in that Ocean, which are laid down in the chart from thefe Spanijh journals, tend greatly to compleat the general fyftem of the magnetic variation, of infinite import to the commerical and fea-faring part of mankind. Thefe obfervations were, though in vain, often publickly called for by our learned countryman the late Dr. Halley , and to his im- mortal reputation they confirm, as far as they extend, the wonder- ful hypothefis he had entertained on this head, and very nearly cor- refpond in their quantity, to the predictions he publifhed above fifty years fince, long before he was acquainted with any one obfervation made in thofe feas. The afcertaining the variation in that part of the world is juft now too of more than ordinary confequence, as the Editors of a new variation-chart lately publifhed, have, for want of proper information, been milled by an erroneous analogy, and have miftaken the very fpecies of variation in that northern ocean 3 for they make it wefteriy where it is eafterly, and have laid it down -12° or 1 3 0 different from its real quantity. Thus INTRODUCTION. can, it would be a difhonour to us longer to negledt fo eafy and beneficial a practice. For, as we have a navy much more nume- rous than theirs, great part of which is always employed in very diftant ftations, either in the protection of our colonies and com- merce, or in affifting our allies againft the common enemy ; this gives us frequent opportunities of furnifhing ourfelves with fuch kind of materials, as are here recommended, and fuch as might turn greatly to our advantage either in war or peace. Since, not to mention what might be expedted from the officers of the Navy, if their application to thefe fubjeCts was properly encouraged, it would create no new expence to the Government to eftablifti a particular regulation for this purpofe ; as all that would be requisite, would be conftantly to embark on board fome of our men of war T which are lent on thefe diftant cruifes, a perfon, who with the character of an engineer, and the ikill and talents neceffary to that' profeffion, ftiould be employed in drawing fuch coafts, and plan- ning fuch harbours, as the fiiip ftiould touch at, and in making fuch other obfervations of all kinds, as might either prove of ad- vantage to future Navigators, or might any ways tend to promote the Public fervice. Perfons habituated to thefe operations (which could not fail at the fame time of improving them in their proper bufmefs) would be extremely ufeful in many other lights, befides thofe already mentioned, and might tend to fecure our Fleets from thofe difgraces, with which their attempts againft places on lliore have been often attended. And, in a Nation like ours, where all fciences are more eagerly and univerfally purfued, and better un- derftood than in any other part of the world ; proper fubjeds for thefe employments could not long be wanting, if due incouragement were given to them. This method here recommended is known to have been frequently pradtifed by the French ; particularly in the inftance of Monfieur Frezier , an Engineer, who has publiftied a celebrated voyage to the South-Sens : For this perfon, in the year ] 7 ii, was purpofely fent by the French King into that country on board a merchantman, that lie might examine and defcribe the co aft. INTRODUCTION. coafl, and take plans of all the fortified places ; the better to enable the French to profecute their illicit trade, or, on a rupture between them and the court of Spain , to form their enterprizes in thofe feas with more readinefs and certainty. Should we purfue this method, we might hope, that the emulation amongfl thofe who were com- miflioned for thefe undertakings, and the experience, which even in the moft peaceable intervals, they would hereby acquire, might at length procure us a proper number of able Engineers, and might efface the national fcandal, which our deficiency in that fpecies of men has fome times expofed us to : And furely, every ftep to encourage and improve them, is of great moment to the Public 3 as no perfons, when they are properly inflrudted, make better returns in war, for the diflindlions and emoluments be- llowed on them in time of peace. Of which the advantages die French have reaped from their dexterity (too numerous and recent to be foon forgot) are an ample confirmation. And having mentioned Engineers, or fuch as are {killed in draw- ing, and the other ufual practices of that profefilon, as the pro- perefl perfons to be employed in thefe foreign enquiries, I cannot (as it offers itfelf fo naturally to the fubjedl in hand) but lament, how very imperfect many of our accounts of diflan t countries are rendered by the relators being unfkilled in drawing, and in the general principles of furveying j even where other abilities have not been wanting. Had more of our travellers been initiated in- thefe acquirements, and had there been added thereto fome little {kill in the common agronomical obfervations, (all which a perfon of ordinary talents might attain, with a very moderate {hare of application) we fhould by this time have feen the geography of the globe much corredler, than we now find it ] the dangers of navigation would have been confiderably lefiened, and the man- ners, arts and produce of foreign countries would have been better known to us, than they are. Indeed, when I confider, the flrong incitements that all travellers have to purfue fome part at leafl of thefe qualifications, efpecially drawing 5 when I confider ( b ) how INTRODUCTION. how much it would facilitate their obfervations, afiift and ftrengthem their memories, and of how tedious, and often uninteligible, a load of defcription it would rid them ; I cannot but wonder that any perfon, who intends to vifit diftant countries, with a view of in- forming either himfelf or others, fhould be wanting in fo neceflary a piece of fkill. And to inforce this argument fill further, I muff add, that befides the ufes of drawing, already mentioned, there is one, which, though not fo obvious, is yet perhaps of more confe- rence than all that has been hitherto urged ; I mean the ftrength and diftinguifhing power it adds to fome of our faculties. This appears from hence, that thofe who are ufed to draw objects, ob- ferve them with more accuracy, than others who are not habi- tuated to that practice. For we may eafily find, by a little ex- perience, that when we view any object, however fimple, our attention or memory is fcarcely at any time fo ftrong, as to enable ms, when we have turned our eyes away from it, to recoiled: ex- adly every part it confifted of, and to recal all the circumftances of its appearance ; fince^ on examination, it will be difcovered, that in fome we were miftaken, and others we had totally over- looked : But he that is accuftomed to draw what he fees, is at the fame time accuftomed to redify this inattention j for by con- fronting his ideas copied on the paper, with the objed he intends -to reprefent, he finds out what circumftance has deceived him in its appearance ; and hence he at length acquires the habit of obferving much more at one view, and retains what he fees with more corrednefs than he could ever have done, without his prac- tice and proficiency in drawing. If what has been faid merits the attention of Travellers of all forts, it is, I think, more particularly applicable to the Gentlemen of the Navy ; fince, without drawing and planning, neither charts nor views of land can be taken ; and without thefe it is fufficiently evident, that navigation is at a full ftand. It is doubtlefs from a perfuafion of the utility of thefe qualifications, that his Majefty has eftablifhed a drawing Mafter at P or tf mouth, for the inftrudion of thofe, who are prefumed to be hereafter intrufted with the com- mand INTRODUCTION. snand of his Royal Navy : And though fome have been fo far ■milled, as to fuppofe, that the perfection of Sea-officers confided in a turn of mind and temper refembling the boiderous element they had to deal with, and have condemned all literature and fcience as effeminate, and derogatory to that ferocity, which, they would falfely perfuade us, was the mod unerring charaderidic of •courage : Yet it is to be hoped, that fuch abfurdities as thefe have ■at no time been authorifed by the Public opinion, and that the belief of them daily diminilhes. If thofe who adhere to thefe mifchievous politions were capable of being influenced by rea- fon, or fiwayed by example, I ffiould think it fufficient for their convidion, to obferve, that the mod valuable drawings inferted in the following work, though done with fuch a degree of lkill, that •even profeffed artids can with difficulty imitate them, were taken by Mr. Peircy Brett , one of Mr. Anjou's Lieutenants, and fince Captain of the Lion man of war ; who, in his memorable engage- ment with the Elizabeth (for the importance of the fervice, or the refolution with which it was conduded, inferiour to none this age has feen) has given ample proof, that a proficiency in the arts I have been here recommending is extremely confident with the mod exemplary bravery, and the mod didinguiffied lkill in every fundion belonging to the duty of a Sea-officer. Indeed, when the many branches of fcience are attended to, of which even the -common pradice of navigation is compofed, and the many im- provements, which men of lkill have added to this pradice within thefe few years ; it would induce one to believe, that the advan- tages of refledion and fpeculative knowledge were in no profeffion more eminent than in that of a fea-officer : For, not to mention fome expertnefs in geography, geometry and adronomy, which it would be dilhonourable for him to be without, (as his journal and his edimate of the daily pofition of the diip are founded on par- ticular branches of thefe arts) it may be well fuppoled, that the management and working of a ffiip, the difeovery of her mod eligible pofition in the water, (ufually diled her Trim) and the difpofition INTRODUCTION. difpofition of her fails in the moft advantageous manner, are arti- cles, wherein the knowledge of mechanieks cannot but be greatly afiiftant. And perhaps the application of this kind of knowledge to naval fubjeCts may produce as great improvements in failing and working a {hip, as it has already done in many other matters conducive to the eafe and convenience of human life. Since, when the fabric of a fhip, and the variety of her fails are con- fidered, together with the artificial contrivances for adapting them to her different motions, as it cannot be doubted, but thefe things- have been brought about by more than ordinary fagacity and in- vention, fo neither can it be doubted but that in fome conjunctures a Speculative and fcientific turn of mind may find out the means of directing and difpofing this complicated mechanifm much more ad- vantageoufly than can be done by mere habit, or by a fervile copy- ing of what others may perhaps have erroneoufly praCtifed in fimi- lar emergencies. But it is time to finifh this digreffion, and to leave the reader to the perufal of the enfuing work ; which, with how little art foever it may be executed, will yet, from the importance of the fubjeCt, and the utility and excellence of the materials, merit fome {hare of the Public attention,. A VOYAGE A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, B Y GEORGE ANSON, Efq; No* LORD ANSON, Commander in Chief of a Squadron of his MAJESTY’S Ships. BOOK I. CHAP. I. Of the equipment of the fquadron : The incidents relating thereto, from its firft appointment, to its fetting fail from St. Helens. T H E fquadron under the Command of Mr. Anfort (of which I here propofe to recite the moil material proceed- ings) having Undergone many changes in its deftination, its force, and its equipment, during the ten months between its original appointment and its final failing from St. Helens ', I con- ceive the hiflory of thefe alterations is a detail necefiary to be made public, both for the honour of thofe who firft planned and promoted this enterprize, and for the jollification of thofe who have been en- B trufled ( 2 } . fruited with its execution. Since it will from lienee appear, that the accidents tlie expedition was afterwards expofed to, and which prevented it from producing all the national advantages the drength of the fquadron,. and the expectation of die public, feemed to pre- fage, were principally owing to a feries of interruptions, which de- layed the Commander in the courfe of his preparations, and which It exceeded his utmod induftry either to avoid or to get removed. When in the latter end of the dimmer of the year 1739, it was forefeen that a war with Spain was inevitable, it was the opinion of forne con fider able perfons then truded with the Ad- minidration of affairs, that the mod prudent dep the Nation could take, on the breaking out of the war, was attacking that Crown in her didant fettlements ; for by this means (as at that time there was the greated probability of fuceefs) it was fuppofed that we fhould cut off the principal refources of the enemy, and fhould. reduce them to the neceffity of fincerely defiring a peace, as they would hereby be deprived of the returns of that treafure, by which alone they could be enabled to carry on a war. In pursuance of thefe fentiments, feveral projects were examined, and feveral refolutions were taken by the Council. And in all thefe deliberations it was from the fird determined, that George Anfon , Efq; then Captain -of the Centurion, fhould be employed as Commander in Chief of an expedition of this kind : And he at that time being abfent on a cruize, a veffel wa6 difpatched to Tiis dation fo early as the beginning of September r to order him to return with his fhip to Portfmoutb . And foon after he came there, that is, on the 10th of 'November following, he received a letter from Sic Charles Wager, directing him to repair to London , and to attend the board of Admiralty : Where, when he arrived, he was inform- ed by Sir Charles , that two Squadrons would be immediately fitted out for two fecret expeditions, which however would have fome connexion with each other t That he, bAv. Anfon, was intended to command one of them, and Mr. Cornwall (who hath fince lod his life glorioufly in the defence of his Country’s honour) the other : That ( 3 ) That the fquadron under Mr. Anfon was to take on board three Independent Companies of a hundred men each, and Bland’s regiment of Foot : That Colonel Bland was likewife to im- bark with his regiment, and to command the land-forces : And that, as foon as this fquadron could be fitted for the fea, they were to fet fail, with exprefs orders to touch at no place till they came to Java Head in the Eajl-lndies : That there they were only to flop to take in water, and thence to proceed diredtly to the city of Manila , fituated on Luconia , one of the Philippine lilands : That the other fquadron was to be of equal force with this commanded by Mr. Anfon , and was intended to pafs round Cape Horn into the South-Seas , to range along that coaft j and after cruizing upon the enemy in thofe parts, and attempting their fettlements, this fquadron in its return was to rendezvous at Manila , there to join the fquadron under Mr. Anfon , where they were to refrefti their men, and refit their fhips, and perhaps receive orders for other confiderable enterprizes. This fcheme was doubtlefs extremely well projected, and could not but greatly advance the Public Service, and the repu- tation and fortune of thofe concerned in its execution $ for had Mr. Afifon proceeded for Manila at the time and in the manner pro- pofed by Six Charles Wager , he would, in all probability, have arrived there before they had received any advice of the war between us and Spain , and confequently before they had been in the leaft pre- pared for the reception of an enemy, or had any apprehenfions of their danger. The city of Manila might be well fuppofed to have been at that time in the fame defencelefs condition with all the other Spanifh fettlements, juft at the breaking out of the war: That is to fay, their fortifications negledted, and in many places decayed ; their cannon difmounted, or rendred ufelefs by the mouldring of their carriages j their magazines, whether of military ftores or pro- vifion, all empty ; their garrifons unpaid, and confequently thin, ill-affecfted, and difpirited ; and the royal chefts in Peru , whence alone all thefe diforders could receive their redrefs, drained to the very bottom : This, from the intercepted letters of their Viceroys B 2 and and Governors, is well known to have been the defencelefs £ate of Panama, and the other Spanijh places on the coaft of the South- Sea, for near a twelvemonth after our declaration of war. And it cannot be fuppofed that the city of Manila , removed drill farther by almofi: half the circumference of the globe, fhould have experienced from the Spanijh Government, a greater fhare of attention and con- cern for its fecurity, than Panama , and the other important ports in* Peru and Chili , on which their poCefnon of that immenfe Em- pire depends. Indeed, it is well known, that Manila was at that- time incapable of making any confiderable defence, and in all pro- bability would have furrendered only on the appearance of our' fquadron before it. The confequence of this city, and the ifland it hands on, maybe in fome meafureeflimated, from the known healthi- nefs of its air, the excellency of its port and bay, the number and' wealth of its inhabitants, and the very extendveand beneficial com- merce which it carries on to the principal Ports in the Eaji-Indies , and China , and its exclufive trade to Acapulco, the returns for which, being made in filver, are, upon the lowed: valuation, not lefs than three millions of Dollars per annum . On this Scheme Sir Charles Wager was fo intent, that in a few days after this firft conference, that is, on November 18, Mr. Anfon received an order to take under his command the Ar - gyle , Severn, Pearl, Wager, and Pryal Sloop j and other orders were idfued to him in the fame month, and in the December following* relating to the victualling of this fquadron. But Mr. Atifon attend- ing the Admiralty the beginning of January , he was informed by Sir Charles Wager, that for reafons with which he, Sir Charles, was- not acquainted, the expedition to Manila was laid afide. It may be conceived, that Mr. Anfon was extremely chagrined at the lofing the command of fo infallible, fo honourable, and in every refpedt, fo de- firable an enterprize, efpecially too as he had already, at a very great expence, made the necefifary provifion for his own accommo- dation in this voyage, which he had reaion to expedt would prove a very long one. However, Sir Charles , to render this difappointment ( 5 ) in fome degree more tolerable, informed him that the expedition to- the South- Seas was dill intended, and that he, Mr. Anfon , and his fquadron, as their fil'd dedination was now countermanded, fhould be employed in that ferviee. And on the loth of 'January he received his commiflion, appointing him Commander in Chief of the forementioned fquadron,. which (the Argyle being in the courfe of their preparation changed for the Gloucejier ) was the fame he failed with above eight months after from St. Helens. On this change of dedination, the equipment of the fquadron was. dill pro- fecuted with as much vigour as ever, and the victualling, and what- ever depended on the Commodore, was foon fo far advanced, that he conceived the fhips might be capable of putting to fea the indant he fhould receive his final orders, of which he was in daily expec- tation. And at lad, on the 28th of June 1740, the Duke of Newcafle, Principal Secretary of State, delivered to him his Ma- jedy’s indruftions, dated January 3 r, 1739, with an additional in- drudtion from the Lords Judices, dated June 19, 1740. On the receipt of thefe, Mr. Anfon immediately repaired to Spithead , with a refolution to fail with the fird fair wind, flattering himfelf that all his difficulties were now at end. For though he knew by the muders that his fquadron wanted three hundred feamen of their complement, (a deficiency which, with all his affiduity, he had not been able to get fupplied) yet, as Sir Charles Wager informed him, that an order from the board of Admiralty was difpatched to Sir John Norris to fpare him the numbers which he wanted, he doubted not of its being complied with. But on his arrival at Portfmouth , he found himfelf greatly midaken, and difappointed in this perfuafion : for on his application, Sir John Norris told him, he could fpare him none, for he wanted men for his own fleet. This occafioned an inevitable and a very confiderable delay ; for it was the end of July before this deficiency was by any means fup- plied, and all that was then done was extremely fhort of his necef- fities and expectation. For Admiral Balchen , who fucceeded to the command at Spithead , after Sir John Norris had . failed to the wed- ward ward, inftead of three hundred able Tailors, which Mr. Anfon want- ed of his complement, ordered on board the fquadron a hundred and feventy men only ; of which thirty-two were from the hofpital and lick quarters, thirty-feven from the Salijbury , with three offi- cers of Colonel Lowther ’ s regiment, and ninety-eight marines, and thefe were all that were ever granted to make up the forementioned deficiency. But the Commodore’s mortification did not end here. It has been already obferved, that it was at firft intended that Colonel Bland ’ s regiment, and three independent companies of a hundred men each, Ihould embark as land-forces on board the fquadron. But this difpofition was now changed, and all the land-forces that were to be allowed, were five hundred invalids to be collected from the out-penfioners of Cbelfea college. As thefe out-penfioners con- lift of foldiers, who from their age, wounds, or other infirmities, are incapable of fervice in marching regiments, Mr. Anfon was greatly chagrined at having fuch a decrepid detachment allotted him; for he was fully perfuaded that the greateft part of them would pe- ri fh long before they arrived at the fcene of adtion, lince the delays he had already encountered, neceffarily confined his pafiage round Cape Horn to the moft rigorous feafon of the year. Sir Charles Wager too joined in opinion with the Commodore, that invalids were no ways proper for this fervice, and follicited ftrenuoully to have them exchanged; but he was told that perfons, who were fuppofed to be better judges of foldiers than he or Mr. Anfon , thought them the propereft men that could be employed on this occafion. And upon this determination they were ordered on board the fquadron on the 5th of Augufi : But inftead of five hundred, there came on board no more than two hundred and fifty-nine; for all thofe who had limbs and ftrength to walk out of Portfmouth deferted, leaving behind them only fuch as were literally invalids, moft of them being fixty years of age, and fome of them upwards of feventy. Indeed it is difficult to conceive a more moving fcene than the imbarkation of thefe unhappy veterans: They were them- felves ( 7 ) felves extremely averfe to the fervice they were engaged in, and fully apprized of all the difafters they were afterwards expofed to j the apprehenfions of which were ftrongly mark’d by the concern that appeared in their countenances, which was mixed with no fmall degree of indignation, to be thus hurried from their repofe into a fatiguing employ, to which neither the ftrength of their bodies, nor the vigour of their minds, were any ways proportioned, and where, without feeing the face of an enemy, or in the lead: pro- moting the fuccefs of the enterprize, they would in all probabili- ty ufelefily perifh by lingring and painful difeafes ; and this too,, after they had fpent the activity and. ftrength of their youth in their Country’s fervice. Icannot but obferve, on this melancholy incident, how extreme- ly unfortunate it was, both to this aged and difeafed detachment, and to the expedition they were employed in ; that amongft all the out- penfioners of Chelfea Hofpital, which were fuppofed to amount to two thoufand men, the moft crazy and infirm only fhould be culled out for fo laborious and perilous an undertaking. For it was well known, that however unfit, invalids in general might be for this fervice, yet by a prudent choice, there might have been found amongft them five hundred men who had fome remains of vigour left : And Mr. Anfo?i fully expedted, that the beft of them w T ould have been allotted him ; whereas the whole detachment that was fent to him, feemed to be made up of the moft decrepid and mi- ferable objedts, that could be collected out of the whole body; and by the defertion abovementioned, thefe were a fecond time cleared of that little health and ftrength which were to be found amongft them, and he was to take up with fuch as were much fitter for an infirmary, than for any military duty. And here it is necefiary to mention another, material particular in the equipment of this fquadron. It was propofed to Mr. Anfon r after it was refolved that he fhould be fent to the South- Seas, to take with him two perfons under the denomination of Agent Victuallers. Thofe who were mentioned for this employment had formerly been. in ill the Spanijh Weft Indies , in the South-Sea Company’s fervice, and it wasfuppofed that by their knowledge and intelligence on that coaft, they might often procure proviiions for him by compact with the inhabitants, when it was not to be got by force of arms: Thefe Agent Victuallers were, for this purpofe, to be allowed to carry to the value of 15,000 /. in merchandize on board the fquadron ; for they had reprefented, that it would be much eafier for them to pro- cure proviiions with goods, than with the value of the fame goods in money. Whatever colours were given to this fcheme, it was difficult to perfuade the generality of mankind, that it was not prin- cipally intended for the enrichment of the Agents, by the beneficial commerce they propofed to carry on upon that coaft. Mr. Anfon , from the beginning, objected both to the appointment of Agent Victuallers, and the allowing them to carry a cargo on board the fquadron : For he conceived, that in thofe-few amicable ports where the fquadron might touch, he needed not their affiftance to contract for any proviiions the place afforded 5 and on the enemy’s coaft, he did not imagine that they could ever procure him the neceflaries he fhould want, unlefs (which he was refolved not to comply with) the military operations of his fquadron were to be regulated by the ridiculous views of their trading projects. All that he thought the Government ought to have done on this occafion, was to put on board to the value of 2 or 3000/, only of fuch goods, as the In- dians > or the Spanijh Planters in the lefs cultivated part of the coaft, might be tempted with j fince it was in fuch places only that he imagined it would be worth while to truck with the enemy for pro- viiions : And in thefe places it was fufficiently evident, a very fmall cargo would fuffice. But though the Commodore objected both to the appoint- ment of thefe officers, and to their projeCt, of the fuccefs of which he had no opinion; yet, as they had infinuated that their fcheme, befides victualling the fquadron, might contribute to fettling a trade upon that coaft, which might be afterwards carried on without difficulty, and might thereby prove a very confiderable national advantage, they were much liftened to by fome confi- 4 derable ( 9 ) derable perions: And of the 1 5,000/. which was to be the amount of their cargo, the Government agreed to advance them 10,000 upon impreft, and the remaining 5000 they raifed on bottomry bonds ; and the goods purchafed with this fum, were all that were taken to fea by the fquadron, how much foever the amount of them might be afterwards magnified by common report. This cargo was at firfl: fhipped on board the Wager Store Ship, and one of the Victuallers; no part of it being admitted on board the men of war. But when the Commodore was at St. Catherine’s , he confidered, that in cafe the fquadron fhould be feparated, it might be pretended that fome of the fhips were difappointed of provifions for want of a cargo to truck with, and therefore he dis- tributed fome of the lead: bulky commodities on board the men of war, leaving the remainder principally on board the Wager , where it was loft : And more of the goods perifhing by various accidents to be recited hereafter, and no part of them being difpofed of up- on the coafl, the few that came home to England , did not pro- duce, when fold, above a fourth part of the original price. So true was the Commodore’s judgment of the event of this pro- ject, which had been by many confidered as infallibly productive of imrnenfe gains. But to return to the tranfaCtions at Portfmonth. To fupply the place of the two hundred and forty invalids which had deferred, as is mentioned above, there were ordered on board two hundred and ten marines detached from different regiments: Thefe were raw and undifciplined men, for they were juft raifed, and had fcarcely any thing more of the foldier than their regimentals, none of them having been fo far trained, as to be permitted to fire. The laft detachment of thefe marines came on board the 8th of Au- gujl , and on the 1 oth the fquadron failed from Spithead to St. He- lens, there to wait for a wind to proceed on the expedition. But the delays we had already fuffered had not yet fpent all their influence, for we were now advanced into a feafon of the year, when the wefterly winds are ufually very conflant, and very vio- lent ; and it was thought proper that we fhould put to fea in com- C pan\j f IO ) pany with the fleet commanded by Admiral Balchen , and the ex» pedition under Lord Cathcart. As we made up in all twenty- one men of war, and a hundred and twenty-four fail of merchant- - men and tranfports, we had no hopes of getting out of the Chan- nel with fo large a number of fhips,. without the continuance of a fair wind, for fome confiderable time. This was what we had every day lefs and lefs reafon to expert, as the time of the equinox drew near ; fo that our golden dreams, and our ideal poffeffion of the Peruvian treafures, grew each day more faint, and the difficulties and dangers of the paffiage round Cape Horn in the winter feafon filled our imaginations in their room. For it was forty days from our arrival at St. Helens , to our final departure from thence : And even then (having orders to proceed without Lord Cathcart ) we tided it down the Channel with a contrary wind. But this inter- val of forty days was not free from the difpleafing fatigue of often fetting fail, and being as often obliged to return nor exempt from dangers, greater than have been fometimes undergone in furround- ing the globe. For the wind coming fair for the firft time, on the 23d of Aagujl , we got under fail, and Mr. Balchen ffiewed himfelf ' truly folicitous to have proceeded to fea, but the wind foon return- ing to its old quarter, obliged us to put bach to St. Helens , not with- out confiderable hazard, and fome damage received by two of the tranfports, who, in tacking, ran foul of each other. Befides this, we made two or three more attempts to fail, but without any better fuccefs. And, on the 6th of September , being returned to an anchor at St. Helens , after one of thefe fruitlefs efforts, the wind blew fo freffi, that the whole fleet ffruck their yards and topmaffs to pre- vent driving: Yet, notwithftanding this precaution, the Cen-. turion drove the next evening, and brought both cables a-head, and we were in no fmall danger of driving foul of the Prince Frederick , a feventy-gun Ihip, moored at a fmall diftance under our ftern 5 though we happily efcaped, by her driving at the fame time, and fo preferving her diftance : But we did not think ourfelves fecure, till we at laft let go the fheet anchor, which fortunately brought us up. 4 However, ( II ) However, on the 9th of September , we were in fome degree relieved from this lingring vexatious fituation, by an Order which Mr. Anfon received from the Lords Jufldces, to put to fea the firfl; opportunity with his own fquadron only, if Lord Cat heart fhould not be ready. Being thus freed from the troublefome com- pany of fo large a fleet, our Commodore refolved to weigh and tide it down Channel, afloon as the weather fhould become fufliciently moderate j and this might eaflly have been done with our own fquadron alone full two months fooner, had the orders of the Admiralty, for fupplying us with feamen, been punctually com- plied with, and had we met with none of thofe other delays men- tioned in this narration. It is true, our hopes of a fpeedy departure were even now fomewhat damped, by a fubfequent order which Mr. Anfon received on the 1 2th of September ; for by that he was required to take under his convoy the St. Albam with the Turkey fleet, and to join the Dragon , and the Whtchefer , with the Streights and the American trade at Torbay or Plymouth, and to pro- ceed with them to fea as far as their way and ours lay together : This incumbrance of a convoy gave us fome uneafinefs, as we feared it might prove the means of lengthening our paflage to the Madera s. However, Mr. Anfon , now having the command himfelf, re- folved to adhere to his former determination, and to tide it down the Channel with the firfl; moderate weather ; and that the junction of his Convoy might occafion as little a lofs of time as poflible, he immediately fent directions to Torbay , that the fleets he was there to take under his care, might be in a readinefs to join him inftantly on his approach. And at lad:, on the 18th of September , he weighed from St. Helens-, and though the wind was at firfl; contrary, had the good fortune to get clear of the Channel in four days, as will be more particularly related in the enfuing chapter. Having thus gone through the refpeCtive ilieps taken in the equip- ment of this fquadron, it is fufliciently obvious how different an afpedl this expedition bore at its firfl; appointment in the beginning of C 2 January, l ( 12 ) "January, from what it had in the latter end of September , when it left the Channel •, and how much its numbers, its flrength, and the probability of its fucc-efs were diminifhed, by the various incidents which took place in that interval. For instead of having all our old and ordinary feamen exchanged for fuch as were young and able, (which the Commodore was at firfl promifed) and having our numbers compleated to their full complement, we were obliged to retain our firfl crews, which were very indifferent y and a defici- ency of three hundred men in our numbers was no otherwife made up to us, than by fending us on board a hundred and feventy men, the greatefl part compofed of fuch as were difcharged from hofpitals, or new-raifed marines who had never been at fea before. And in the land-forces allotted us, the change was flill more difad- vantageous; for there, inftead of three independent companies of a hundred men each, and Bland’ s regiment of foot, which was an old one, we had only four hundred and feventy invalids and marines, one part of them incapable of action by their age and infirmities, and the other part ufelefs by their ignorance of their duty. But the diminifhing the fcrength of the fquadron was not the greatefl inconveniency which attended thefe alterations 3 for the contefls, reprefentations, and difficulties which they continually produced, (as we have above feen, that in thefe cafes the authority of the Admiralty was not always fubmitted to) occafioned a delay and wafle of time, which in its confequences was the fource of all the difaflers to which this enterprize was afterwards expofed : for by this means we were obliged to make our paflage round Cape Horn in the moll tempefluous feafon of the year 3 whence proceed- ed the feparation of our fquadron, the lofs of numbers of our men, and the imminent hazard of our total deflrudtion. By this delay too, the enemy had been fo well informed of our defigns, that a perfon who had been employed in the South-Sea Company’s fervice, and arrived from Panama three or four days before we left P or tf mouth, was able to relate to Mr, Anfon mofl of the par- 4 ticulars ( *3 ) ticulars of the destination and Strength of our Squadron, from what he had learnt amongSt the Spaniards before he left them. And this was afterwards confirmed by a more extraordinary cir- cumstance : For we Shall Sind, that when the Spaniards (fully Sa- tisfied that our expedition was intended for the South-Seas ) had fit- ted out a Squadron to oppofe us, which had So far got the Start of us, as to arrive before us off the ifland of Madera , the Com- mander of this Squadron was So well inStru£ted in the form and make of Mr. Afifon ' s broad pendant, and had imitated it So ex- actly, that he thereby decoyed the Pearl , one of our Squadron* within gun-Shot of him, before the Captain of the Pearl was able to difcover his mistake. CHAP, ( 14 ) CHAP. II. The pailage From St. Helens to the Ifland of Madera ; with a fhort account of that Ifland, and of our itay there. O N the 1 8 th of September , 1740, the fquadron, as we have obferved in the preceding chapter, weighed from St. Helens with a contrary wind, the Commodore propoling to tide it down the Channel, as he dreaded lefs the inconveniencies he fhould thereby have to ftruggle with, than the rifk he fhould run of ruin- ing the enterprize, by an uncertain, and, in all probability, a tedi- ous attendance for a fair wind. The fquadron allotted to this fervice confifted of five men of war, a Hoop of war, and two victualling fhips. They were the Centurion of fixty guns, four hundred men, George An- fon , Efq; Commander; the Gloucejler of fifty guns, three hundred men, Richard Norris Commander; the Severn of fifty guns, three hundred men, the Honourable Edward Legg Commander; the Pearl of forty guns, two hundred and fifty men, Matthew Mitchel Commander; the Wager of twenty-eight guns, one hundred and fixty men, Handy Kidd Commander; and the Tryal Sloop of eight guns, one hundred men, the Honourable John Murray Com- mander ; the two Victuallers were Pinks, the largeft of about four hundred, and the other of about two hundred tons burthen, thefe were to attend us, till the provifions we had taken on board were fo far confumed, as to make room for the additional quantity they car- ried with them, which, when we had taken into our fhips, they were to be difcharged. Befides the complement of men born by the abovementioned fhips as their crews, there were embarked on board the fquadron about four hundred and feventy invalids and marines, under f 15 ) tinder the denomination of land-forces, (as has been particularly men- tioned in the preceding chapter) which were commanded by Lieu- tenant Colonel Crachercde. With this fquadron, together with the St. Albans and the Lark , and the trade under their convoy, Mr. Anfon , after weighing from St. Helens , tided it down the Chan- nel for the firfl forty-eight hours ; and, on the 20th, in the morn- ing, we difcovered off the Ram-Head the Dragon , Winchefier , South-Sea CaJHe , and Rye , with a number of merchantmen under their Convoy : Thefe we joined about noon the fame day, our Com- modore having orders to fee them (together with the St. Albans and Lark) as far into the fea as their courfe and ours lay together. When we came in fi ght of this laft mentioned fleet, Mr. Anfon firfl: hoifted his broad pendant, and was faluted by all the men of war in company. When we had joined this laft Convoy, we made up eleven men of war, and about one hundred and fifty fail of merchantmen, con- fifting of the Lurky , the Streights , and the American trade. Mr. An- fon , the fame day, made a fignal for all the Captains of the men of war to come on board him, where he delivered them their fighting and failing inflxudtions, and then, with a fair wind, we all flood to- wards the South-Weft ; and the next day at noon, being the 2 iff, . we had run forty leagues from the Ram-Head. Being now clear of ’ the land, our Commodore, to render our view more extenfive, or- dered Captain Mitchel , in the Pearl , to make fail two leagues a-head of the fleet every morning, and to repair to his ftation every even- ing. Thus we proceeded till the 2 5th, when the Winchejler and the American Convoy made the concerted fignal for leave to fepa- rate, which being anfwered by the Commodore, they left us : As the St. Albans and the Dragon , with the Larky and Streights Con- voy, did on the 29th. After which feparation, there remained in company only our own fquadron and our two victuallers, with which we kept on our courfe for the Ifland of Madera. But the winds were fo contrary, that we had the mortification to be forty days in our paflage thither from St. Helens , though it is known to be often done ( 16 ) done in ten or twelve. This delay was a mod; unpleafing circum- ftance, productive of much difcontent and ill-humour amonglt our people, of which thofe only can have a tolerable idea, who have had the experience of a like fituation. For befides the peevidinefs and defpondency which foul and contrary winds, and a lingring voyage never fail to create on all occafions, we, in particular, had very fubltantial reafons to be greatly alarmed at this unexpected im- pediment. Since as we had departed from England much later than we ought to have done, we had placed almoft all our hopes of fuc- cefs in the chance of retrieving in fome meafure at fea, the time we had lb unhappily waited at Spithead and St. Helens. However, at lafh, on Monday , October the 25th, at five in the morning, we, to our great joy, made the land, and in the afternoon came to an anchor in Madera Road , in forty fathom water ; the Brazen-head. bearing from us E by S, the Loo N N W, and the great Church NNE. We had hardly let go our anchor, when an Englijh pri- vateer Hoop ran under our Hern, and faluted the Commodore with nine guns, which we returned with five. And, the next day, the Conful of the Illand vifiting the Commodore, we faluted him with nine guns on his coming on board. This Illand of Madera , where we are now arrived, is famous through all our American fettlements for its excellent wines, which feem to be defigned by Providence for the refrelhment of the inha- bitants of the Torrid Zone. It is fituated in a fine climate, in the latitude of 32:27 North} and in the longitude from London (by our different reckonings,) of 18 0 4- to 19 0 4 - Welt, though laid down in the charts in 17 0 . It is compofed of one continued hill, of a confiderable height, extending itfelf from Eaft to Well: The declivity of which, on the South-fide, is cultivated and interfperfed with vineyards} and in the midftof this Hope the Merchants have fixed their country feats, which help to form a very agreeable profpeCt. There is but one confiderable town in the whole Illand, it is named Fonchiale , and is feated on the South part of the Illand, at the bot- tom ( 1 7 ) tom of a large bay. Towards the fea, it is defended by a high wall, with a battery of cannon, befides a caflle on the Loo , which is a rock Handing in the waiter at a fmall diHance from the Ihore. Fon- chiale is the only place of trade, and indeed, the only place where it is poflible for a boat to land. And even here the beach is cover- ed with large Hones, and a violent furf continually beats upon it; fo that the Commodore did not care to venture the fliips long boats to fetch the water off, there was fo much danger of their being loH ; and therefore ordered the Captains of the fquadron to employ Portuguefe boats on that fervice. We continued about a week at this Illand, watering our Hups, and providing the fquadron with wine and other refrelhments. Here on the 3d of November , Captain Richard Norris Hgnified by a letter to the Commodore, his delire to quit his command on board the Gloucefler , in order to return to England for the recovery of his health, this requeH the Commodore complied with ; and thereupon was pleafed to appoint Captain Matthew Miichel to command the Gloucejler in his room,, and to remove Captain Kidd from the Wager to the Pearl , and Captain Murray from the Fryal Sloop to the Wager , giving the command of the Fryal to Lieute- nant Cheap. Thefe promotions being fettled, with other changes in the Lieutenancies, the Commodore, on the following day, gave to the Captains their orders, appointing St. Jago, one of the Cape de Verd Illands, to be the HrH place of rendezvous in cafe of fepara- tion ; and directing them, if they did not meet the Centurion there, to make the beH of their way to the Illand of St. Catherine's , on the coaH of Brazil. The water for the fquadron being the fame day compleated, and each Chip fupplied with as much -wine and other refrelhments as they could take in, we weighed anchor in the afternoon, and took our leave of the Illand of Madera. But before I go on with the narration of our own tranfadtions, I think it neceffary to give fome account of the proceedings of the enemy, and of the meafures they had taken to render all our de- Hgns abortive. D When ( 18 ) When Mr. Anfon viflted the Governor of Madera , he received information from him, that for three or four days, in the latter end of 0 Bober ^ there had appeared, to the weftward of that Ifland, feven or eight fhips of the line, and a Patache, which laft was fent every day clofe in to make the land. The Governor allured the Commodore, upon his honour, that none upon the Ifland had either given them intelligence, or had in any fort communi- cated with them, but that he believed them to be either French or Spani/h , but was rather inclined to think them Spanijh. On this intelligence, Mr. Anfon fent an Officer in a clean fioop, eight leagues to the wefcward, to reconnoitre them, and, if poffible, to difcover what they were : But the Officer returned without being able to get a fight of them, fo that we drill remained in uncertain- ty. Plowever, we could not but conjecture, that this fleet was in- tended to put a flop to our expedition, which, had they cruifed to the eaflrward of the Ifland inflread of the weflward, they could not but have executed with great facility. For as, in that cafe, they muft have certainly fallen in with us, we fhould have been obliged to throw overboard vaff quantities of provifion to clear our fliips for an en- gagement, and this alone, without any regard to the event of the aftion, would have effectually prevented our progrefs.. This was fo obvious a meafure, that we could not help imagining reafons which might have prevented them from purfuing it. And we therefore fuppofed, that this French or Spanijh fquadron was fent out, upon advice of our failing in company with Admiral Bal- chen and Lord Cat heart's expedition: And thence, from an ap- prehenfion of being over-matched, they might not think it ad- visable to meet with us, till we had parted company, which they might judge would not happen, before our arrival at this Ifland. Thefe were our fpeculations at that time ; and from hence we had reafon to fuppofe, that we might ffill fall in with them, in ■our way to the Cape de Verd Iflands. We afterwards, in the ■courfe of our expedition, were perfuaded, that this was the 4 Spanijh ( *9 ) Spanijh fquadron commanded by Don Jfofeph Pizarro which was fent out purpofely to traverfe the views and enterprizes of our fquadron, to which, in flrength, they were greatly fuperior. As this Spanijh armament then was fo nearly connected with our ex- pedition, and as the cataflrophe it underwent, though not effected by our force, was yet a conhderable advantage to this Nation, pro- duced in confequence of our equipment, I have, in the following chapter, given a fummary account of their proceedings, from their firft fetting out from Spain in the year 1740, till the AJia, the only fhip of the whole fquadron which returned to Europe , arrived at the Groyne in the beginning of the year 1746. JD 2 C H A P, ( 20 ) CHAP. III. The hiftory of the Spcmijh fquadron commanded by Don yojeph Pizarro. t I A H E fquadron fitted out by the Court of Spain to attend 1 our motions, and traverfe our projects, we fuppofed to have been the fhips feen off Madera , as mentioned in the pre- ceding chapter. As this . force was fent out particularly againft our expedition, I cannot but imagine, that the following hiftory of the cafualties it met with, as far as by intercepted letters and other information the fame has come to my knowledge, is a very eftential part of the prefent work. For hence it will appear that we were the occafion, that a confiderable part of the naval power of Spain was diverted from the profecution of the ambitious Views of that Court in Europe . And whatever men and fhips, were loft by the enemy in this undertaking, were loft in confequence of the precautions they took to fecure themfelves againft our enterprizes. This fquadron (befides two fhips intended for the Weft -Indies, which did not part company till after they had left the Maderas ) was compofed of the following men of war, commanded by Don fofeph Pizarro : The ffa of fixty-fix guns, and feven hundred men 3 this was the Admiral’s fhip. The Guipufcoa of feventy-four guns, and feven hundred men. The Ilermiona of fifty-four guns, and five hundred men. The Efperanza of fifty guns, and four hundred and fifty men. The St. Efe'van of forty guns, and three hundred and fifty men. And a Patache of twenty guns. Thefe fhips, over and above their complement of failors and ma- rines, had 011 board an old Spanifo regiment of foot, intended to reinforce ( 21 ) reinforce the garrifons on the coafc of the South- Seas. When this fleet had cruifed for fome days to the leeward of the Maderas , as is mentioned in the preceding chapter, they left that ftation in the beginning of November, and fleered for the river of Plate , where they arrived the 5th of 'January , O. S. and coming to an anchor in the bay of Maldonado , at the mouth of that river, their Admiral Pi- zarro fent immediately to Buenos Ayres for a fupply of provifions ; for they had departed from Spain with only four months provifions on board. While they lay here expecting this fupply, they received intelligence, by the Treachery of the Portugnefe Governor of St. Catherine's , of Mr. Anfon' s having arrived at that Ifland on the 2 1 ft of December preceding, and of his preparing to put to fea again with the utmoft expedition. Pizarro, notwithftanding his fuperior force, had his reafons (and as fome fay his orders like wife) for avoiding our fquadron any where fhort of the South- Seas. He was befides extremely defirous of getting round Cape Horn before us, as he imagined that ftep alone would effePcually baffle all our defigns j and therefore, on hearing that we were in his neighbour- hood, and that v/e fhould foon be ready to proceed for Cape Horn , he weighed anchor with the five large fhips, (the Patache being dif- abled and condemned, and the men taken out of her) after a flay of feventeen days only, and got under fail without his provifions, which arrived at Maldonado within a day or two after his departure. But •notwithftanding the precipitation, with which he departed, we put to fea from St. Catherine's four days before him, and in fome part of our paflage to Cape Horn , the two fquadrons v/e re fo near together, that the Pearl, one of our fhips, being feparated from the reft, fell in with the Spanifh Fleet, and miftaking the Afia for the Centurion, had got within gun-fhot of Pizarro, before flie difeovered her er- ror, and narrowly efcaped being taken. It being the 2 2d of January when the Spaniards weighed from Maldonado, (as has been already mentioned) they could not expedt to get into the latitude of Cape Horn before the equinox 5 and as they had reafon to apprehend very tempefluous weather in doubling it f 22 ) it at that feafon, and as the Spanifh failors, being for the mod: part accuftomed to a fair weather country, might be expected to be very averfe to fo dangerous and fatiguing a navigation, the better to en- courage them, feme part of their pay was advanced to them in Eu- ropean goods, which they were to be permitted to difpofe of in the South- Seas, that fo the hopes of the great profit, each man was to make on his venture, might animate him in his duty, and render him lefs difpofed to repine at the labour, the hardfhips and the perils he would in all probability meet with before his arrival on the coaft of Peru. Fizarro with his fquadron having, towards the latter end of February , run the length of Cape Horn , he then flood to the. weft ward in order to double it • but in the night, of the laft day of February , O. S. while with this view they were turning to windward, the Guipufcoa , the Hermiona , and the Efperanza , were feparated from the Admiral 5 and, on the 6th of March following, the Guipufcoa was feparated from the other two ; and, on the 7th (being the day after we had paffed Streights le Maire ) there came on a mod; furious florm at N W, which in defpight of all their efforts, drove the whole fquadron to the eaflward, and after feveral fruitlefs attempts, obliged them to bear away for the river of Plate , where Pizarro in the AJia arrived about the middle of May, and a few days after him the Efperanza and the Eftevan. The Hermiona was fuppofed to founder at fea, for fire was never heard of more 3 and the Guipufcoa was run a-fhore, and funk on the coaff of Brazil. The calamities of all kinds, which this fqua- dron underwent in this unfuccefsful navigation, can only be pa- ralleled by what we ourfelves experienced in the fame climate, when buffeted by the fame ftorms. There was indeed fome di- verfity in our diilreffes, which rendered it difficult to decide, whofe htuation was moft worthy of commiferation. For to all the mif- fortunes we had in common with each other, as fhattered rig- ging, leaky {hips, and the fatigues and defpondency, which necef- farily attend thefe difafters, there was fuperadded on board our fqua- dron ( 23 ) dron the ravage of a moll definitive and incurable difeafe, and on board the S 'panifh fquadron the devaflation of famine. For this fquadron, either from the hurry of their outlet, their prefumption of a fupply at Buenos Ayres , or from other lefs ob- vious motives, departed from Spain, as has been already obferved, with no more than four months provifion on board, and even that, as it is faid, at fhort allowance only ; fo that, when by the florins they met with oft Cape Horn , their continuance at fea was prolonged a month or more beyond their expectation, they were reduced to fuch infinite diflrefs, that rats, when they could be caught, were fold for four dollars a-piece; and a failor, who died on board, had his death concealed for fome days by his brother, who, during that time, lay in the fame hammock with the corpfe, only to receive the dead man’s allowance of provifions. In this dreadful fituation they were alarmed (if their horrors were capable of augmentation) by the difcovery of a confpiracy among the marines, on board the Afia, the Admiral’s fhip. This had taken its rife chiefly from the miferies they endured: For though no lefs was propofed by the confpirators than the maffacring the officers and the whole crew, yet their motive for this bloody refolution feemed to be no more than their defire of relieving their hunger, by appropriating the whole fhip’s provifions to themfelves. But their defigns were prevented,- when jufl upon the point of execution, by means of one of their confefifors, and three of their ringleaders were immediately put to death. Howe- ver, though the confpiracy was fupprefled, their other calamities ad- mitted of no alleviation, but grew each day more and more de- flrudive. So that by the complicated diflrefs of fatigue, ficknefs and hunger, the three fhips which efcaped lofl the greatefl part of their men : The Afia, their Admiral’s fhip, arrived at Monte Vedio in the river of Plate, with half her crew only ; the St. E [lev an had lofl in like manner half her hands, when fhe anchored in the bay of Barra- gan ■, the Efperanza , a fifty gun fhip, was flill more unfortunate, for of four hundred and fifty hands which fhe brought from Spain , only fifty-eight remained alive, and the whole regiment of foot perifhed except ( 2 4 ) except fixty men. But to give the reader a more difindt and par- ticular idea of what they underwent upon this occafion, I dial! lay before him a fhort account of the fate of the Gulpufcoa -, extracted from a letter written by Don yofeph Mendiruetta her Captain, to a perfon of dif indtion at Lima ; a copy of which fell into our hands afterwards in the South-Seas. He mentions, that he feparated from the Hermiona and the Ef- peranza in a fog, on the 6th of March , being then, as I fuppofe, to the S. E. of Staten-Land , and plying to the wef ward ; that in the night after, it blew a furious form at N. W, which, at half an hour after ten, fplit his mainfail, and obliged him to bear away with his forefail ; that the flip went ten knots an hour with a prodigious fea, and often ran her gangway under water; that he likewife fprung his main-mail: ; and the fhip made fo much water, that with four pumps and bailing he could not free her. That on the 1 9th it was calm, but the fea continued fo high, that the fhip in roiling opened all her upper works and feams, and farted the butt ends of her planking and the greatef part of her top timbers, the bolts being drawn by the violence of her roll : That in this condition,, with other additional difafers to the hull and rigging, they conti- nued beating to the wefwatd till the 12th:. That they were then in fxty degrees of fouth latitude, in great want of provifions, num- bers every day perifhing by the fatigue of pumping, and thofe who furvived, being quite difpirited by labour, hunger, and the feverity of the v/eather, they having two fpans of fnow upon the decks : That then finding the wind fixed in the wefern quarter, and blowing f rong, and confequently their paffage to the wef ward impoflible, they refolved to bear away for the river of Plate : That on the 2 2d, they were obliged to throw overboard all the upper-deck guns, and an anchor, and to take fix turns of the cable round the fhip to prevent her opening : That on the 4th of April , it being calm but a very high fea, the fhip rolled fo much, that the main- maf came by the board, and in a few hours after fhe lof , in like manner, her fore-maft and her mizen-maf ; and that, to accumu- late ( ^5 ) kte their misfortunes, they were foon obliged to cut away their bowfprit, to diminifh, if poflible, the leakage at her head : That by this time he had loft two hundred and fifty men by hunger and fatigue ; for thofe who were capable of working at the pumps, (at which every Officer without exception took his turn) were al- lowed only an ounce and half of bifcuit per diem ; and thofe who were fo fick or fo weak, that they could not affift in this neceflary labour, had no more than an ounce of wheat ; fo that it was com- mon for the men to fall down dead at the pumps : That, including the Officers, they could only mufter from eighty to a hundred perfons capable of duty : That the South Weft winds blew fo frefh, after they had loft their mafts, that they could not immediately fet up jury mafts, but were obliged to drive like a wreck, between the latitudes of 32 and 28, till the 24th of April , when they made the coaft of Brazil at Rio de Patas , ten leagues to the fouthward of the Ifland of St. Catherine' sj that here they came to an anchor, and that the Captain was very defirous of proceeding to St. Cathe- rine's if poflible, in order to fave the hull of the fhip, and the guns and ftores on board her; but the crew inftantly left off pumping, and being enraged at the hardships they had fuffered, and the numbers they had loft, (there being at that time no lefs than thirty dead bodies lying on the deck) they all with one voice cried out on shore, on shore, and obliged the Captain to run the fhip in direCtly for the land, where, the 5th day after, fhe funk with her ftores, and all her furniture on board her, but the remainder of the crew, whom hunger and fatigue had fpared, to the number of four hundred, got fafe on fhore. From this account of the adventures and cataftrophe of the Guipufcoa , we may form fome conjecture of the manner, in which the Hermiona was loft, and of the diftrefles endured by the three remaining fhips of the fquadron, which got into the river of Plate. Thefe laft being in great want of mafts, yards, rigging, and all kind of naval ftores, and having no fupply at Buenos Ayres, nor in any of theirneighbouring fettlements, Pizarro difpatchedan advice boat with E a letter / ( 26 ) a letter of credit to Rio Janeiro, to purchafe what was warning from the Portuguefe. He, at the fame time, fent an exprefs acrofs the continent to St. Jago in Chili , to be thence forwarded to the Viceroy of Peru, informing him of the difalters that had befallen his fquadron, and defiring a remittance of 200,000 dollars from the royal chelts at Lima, to enable him to victual and refit his re- maining fhips, that he might be again in a condition to attempt the pafiage to the South - Seas, as foon as the feafon of the year fhould be more favourable. It is mentioned by the Spaniards as a molt ex- traordinary circumltance, that the Indian charged with this exprefs (though it was then the depth of winter, when the Cordilleras are elteemed impafiable on account of the fnow) was only thirteen days in his journey from Buenos Ayres to St. Jago in Chili • though thefe places are diltant three hundred Spanifh leagues, near forty of which are amonglt the fnows and precipices of the Cordilleras. The return to this difpatch of Pizarro’s from the Viceroy of Peru was no ways favourable; infiead of 200,000 dollars, the fum demanded, the Viceroy remitted him only 100,000, telling him, that it was with great difficulty he was able to procure him even that : Though the inhabitants at Lima, who confidered the prefence of Pizarro as abfolutely necefiary to their fecurity, were much difcontented at this procedure, and did not fail to aflert, that it was not the want of money, but the interelted views of fome of the Viceroy’s confidents, that prevented Pizarro from having the whole fum he had aficed for. The advice-boat fent to Rio Janeiro alfo executed her commiffion but imperfectly ; for though the brought back a confiderable quan- tity of pitch, tar and cordage, yet the could not procure either marts or yards: and as an additional misfortune, Pizarro was dis- appointed of fome mails he expeCted from Paraguay ; for a car- penter, whom he entrulted with a large fum of money, and had fent there to cut malts, inltead of profecuting the bufinefs he was employed in, had married in the country, and refufed to return. However, by removing the malts of the Efperanza into the Apia, l and ( 27 ) and making ufe of what fpare mails and yards they had on board, they made a fhift to refit the Afia and the St. Ejlevan. And in the October following, Pizarro was preparing to put to fea with thefe two fhips, in order to attempt the paffage round Cape Horn a fe- cond time ; but the St. Ejlevan , in coming down the river Plate, ran on a fhoal, and beat off her rudder, on which, and other da- mages fhe received, fhe was condemned and broke up, and Pi- zarro in the AJia proceeded to fea without her. Having now the fummer before him, and the winds favourable, no doubt was made of his having a fortunate and fpeedy paffage ; but being off Cape Horn , and going right before the wind in very moderate wea- ther, though in a fwelling fea, by fome mifcondud: of the officer of the watch the fhip rolled away her mails, and was a fecond time obliged to put back to the river of Plate in great diilrefs. The Afia having confiderably buffered in this fecond unfortunate expedition, the Efperanza ) which had been left behind at Monte VediOy was ordered to be refitted, the command of her being given to Mindinuetta , who was Captain of the Guipufcoa , when ihe was loft. He, in the November of the fucceeding year, that is, in No- vember 1742, failed from the river of Plate for the South-Seas , and arrived fafe on the coail of Chili ; where his Commodore Pizarro pafling over land from Buenos Ayres met him. There were great animofities and conteils between thefe two Gentlemen at their meet- ing, occafioned principally by the claim of Pizarro to command the Efperanza , which Mindinuetta had brought round j For Min- dinuetta refufed to deliver her up to him ; infilling, that as he came into the South-Seas alone, and under no fuperior, it was not now in the power of Pizarro to refume that authority, which he had once parted with. However, the Prefident of Chili interpofing, and declaring for Pizarro , Mindinuetta , after a long and obflinate ftruggle, was obliged to fubmit. But Pizarro had not yet compleated the feries of his adventures; for when he and Mindinuetta came back by land from Chili to Bums Ayres , in the year 1745, they found at Monte Vedio the E 2 AJia s f 28 ) Afia, which near three years before they had left there. This fhip they refolved, if poffible, to carry to Europe , and with this view they refitted her in the beft manner they could : But their great dif- ficulty was to procure a fufficient number of hands to navigate her, for all the remaining failors of the fquadron to be met with in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres , did not amount to a hundred men. They endeavoured to fupply this defedt by preffing many of the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres , and putting on board befides all the Englijh prifoners then in their cuftody, together with a number of Portuguefe fmugglers, which they had taken at different times, and fome of the Indians of the country. Among thefe lafl there was a Chief and ten of his followers, which had been furprized by a party of Spanifh foldiers about three months before,, The name of this Chief was Orellana , he belonged to a very powerful Tribe^ which had committed great ravages in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres. With this motly crew (all of them, except the European Spa- niards, extremely averfe to the voyage) Pizarro fet fail from Monte Vedio in the river of Plate , about the beginning of November 1745, and the native Spaniards being no ftrangers to the diffatisfaftion of their forced men, treated both thofe, the Englijh prifoners and the Indians , with great infolence and barbarity j but more particularly the Indians , for it was common for the meaneft officers in the fhip to beat them mod: cruelly on the flighted: pretences, and oftentimes only to exert their fuperiority. Ordlam and his followers, though in appearance fufficiently patient and fubmiffive, meditated a fevere revenge for all thefe inhumanities. As he converfed very well in Spanijh , (thefe Indians having in time of peace a great intercourfe with Buenos Ayres) he affe&ed to talk with fuch of the. Englijh as underftood that language, and feemed very defirous of being inform- ed how many Englijhmen there were on board, and which they, were. As he knew that the Englijh were as much enemies to the. Spaniards as himfelf,. he had doubtlefs an intention of difclofing his purpofes to them, and making them partners in the fcheme he had projected for revenging his wrongs, and recovering his liberty j but having ( 29 ) having founded them at a distance, and not finding them fo precipi- tate and vindictive as he expedted, he proceeded no further with them, but refolved to trail alone to the refolution of his ten faithful followers. Thefe, it ihould feem, readily engaged to obferve his directions, and to execute whatever commands he gave them ; and having agreed on the meafures neceffary to be taken, they firil fur- niihed themfelves with Dutch knives iharp at the point, which be- ing the common knives uied in the ihip, they found no difficulty in procuring: Befides this, they employed their leifure in fe- cretly cutting out thongs from raw hides, of which there were great numbers on board, and in fixing to each end of theie thongs the double-headed (hot of the fmall quarter-deck guns; this, when fwung round their heads, according to the practice of their country,. was a moil mifchievous weapon, in the ufe of which the Indians about Buenos Ayres are trained from their infancy, and confequently are extremely expert. Thefe particulars being in good forward- nefs, the execution of their fcheme was perhaps precipitated by a particular outrage committed on Orellana himfelf For one of the Officers, who was a very brutal fellow, ordered Orellana aloft, which being what he was incapable of performing, the Officer, un- der pretence of his difobedience, beat him with fuch violence, that he left him bleeding on the deck, and dupified for fome time with his bruifes and wounds. This ufage undoubtedly heightened his* third: for revenge,, and made him eager and impatient, till the means of executing it were in his power ; fo that within a day or two after this incident, he and his followers opened their deiperate refolves in theenfuing manner.. It was about nine in the evening, when many of the principal Officers were on the quarter-deck, indulging in the frefhnefs of the night air ; the wade of the drip was filled with live cattle, and the fbrecadle was manned with its cudomary watch. Orellana and his companions, under cover of the night, having prepared their weapons, and thrown off their trouzers and the more cumbrous part of their drefs, came all together on the quarter-deck, and drew towards the. ( 3 ° ) the door of the great cabbin. The Boatfwain immediately repri- manded them, and ordered them to be gone. On this Orellana fpoke to his followers in his native language, when four of them drew off, two towards each gangway, and the Chief and the fix remaining Indians feemed to be ilowly quitting the quarter-deck. When the detached Indians had taken pofteffion of the gangway > Orellana placed his hands hollow to his mouth, and bellowed out the war-cry ufed by thofe favages, which is faid to be the harfheft and mod: terrifying found known in nature. This hideous yell was the fignal for beginning the maffacre : For on this they all drew their knives, and brandifhed their prepared double-headed fhot, and the fix with their Chief, which remained on the quarter-deck, im- mediately fell on the Spaniards , who were intermingled with them, and laid near forty of them at their feet, of which above twenty were killed on the fpot, and the reft difabled. Many of the Offi- cers, in the beginning of the tumult, pufhed into the great cabbin, where they put out the lights, and barricadoed the door : Whilft of the others, who had avoided the firft fury of the Indians . , fome en- deavoured to efcape along the gangways into the forecaftle, where the Indians , placed on purpofe, ftabbed the greateft part of them, as they attempted to pafs by, or forced them off the gangways into the wafte : Some threw themfelves voluntarily over the barrica- does into the wafte, and thought themfelves fortunate to lie conceal- ed amongft the cattle : But the greateft part efcaped up the main fhrouds, and fheltered themfelves either in the tops or rigging. And though the Indians attacked only the quarter-deck, yet the watch in the forecaftle finding their communication cut off, and be- ing terrified by the wounds of the few, who not being killed on the fpot, had ftrength fufficient to force their paffage, and not knowing either who their enemies were, or what were their numbers, they like wife gave all over for loft, and in great confufion ran up into the rigging of the fore-maft and bowfprit. Thus ( 3 1 ) Thus thefe eleven Indians , with a resolution perhaps without ex- ample, poffefifed themfelves almoft in an inftant of the quarter-deck of a Ship mounting fixty-fix guns, and mann’d with near five hun- dred hands, and continued in peaceable poffeffion of this poll a con- fiderable time. For the Officers in the great cabbin, (amongft whom were Pizarro and Mindinuetta ) the crew between decks, and thofe who had efcaped into the tops and rigging, were only anxious for their own fafety, and were for a long time incapable of forming any projedt for fuppreffing the infurredtion, and recovering the pof- feffion of the ffiip. It is true, the yells of the Indians , the groans of the wounded, and the confufed clamours of the crew, all height- ned by the obfcurity of the night, had at firft greatly magnified their danger, and had filled them with the imaginary terrors, which darknefs, diforder, and an ignorance of the real ftrength of an ene- my never fail to produce. For as the Spaniards were fenfible of the difaffedlion of their prefi: hands, and were alfo confcious of their barbarity to their prifoners, they imagined, the confpiracy was ge- neral, and confidered their own deftrudtion as infallible ; fo that, it is faid, fome of them had once taken the refolution of leaping into the fea, but were prevented by their companions. However, when the Indians had entirely cleared the quarter-deck, the tumult in a great meafure fubfided ; for thofe, who had ef- caped, were kept filent by their fears, and the Indians were incapa- ble of purfuing them to renew the diforder. Orellana , when he faw himfelf matter of the quarter-deck, broke open the arm-chett, which, on a flight fufpicion of mutiny, had been ordered there a few days before, as to a place of the greateft fecurity. Here he took it for granted, he fhould find cutlafles fufficient for himfelf and his companions, in the ufe of which weapon they were all ex- tremely fkilful, and with thefe, it was imagined, they propofed to have forced the great cabbin : But on opening the chett, there ap- peared nothing but fire-arms, which to them were of no ufe. There were indeed cutlafles in the cheft, but they were hid by the fire- arms being laid over them. This was a fenfible difappointment to them. ( 32 ) them, and by this time Pizarro and his companions in the great cabbin were capable of converting aloud, through the cabbin win- dows and port-holes, with thofe in the gun-room and between decks, and from hence they learnt, that the Englijh (whom they principally fufpeded) were all fafe below, and had not intermedled in this mutiny; and by other particulars they at laft difcovered, that none were concerned in it but Orellana and his people. On this . Pizarro and the Officers refolved to attack them on the quarter- deck, before any of the difcontented on board fhould fo far reco- ver their firft furprize, as to retied: on the facility and certainty of feizing the fhip by a jundion with the Indians in the prefent emer- gency. With this view Pizarro got together what arms were in the cabbin, and diflributed them to thofe who were with him : But there were no other tire-arms to be met with but piflols, and for thefe they had neither powder nor ball. However, having now fettled a correfpondence with the gun-room, they lowered down a bucket out of the cabbin-window, into which the gunner, out of one of the gun-room ports, put a quantity of piftol cartridges. When they had thus procured ammunition, and had loaded their piftols, they fet the cabbin-door partly open, and fired feveral fhot amongfl the Indians on the quarter-deck, tho’ at firti: without effed : But at laft Mindinnetta , whom we have often mentioned, had the good fortune to fhoot Orellana dead on the fpot ; on which his faithful companions abandoning all thoughts of farther refinance, inftantly leaped into the fea, where they every man perifiied. Thus was this infurredion quelled, and the pofleffion of the quarter- deck regained, after it had been full two hours in the power of this great and daring Chief, and his gallant unhappy countrymen. Pizarro having efcaped this imminent peril fleered for Europe , and arrived fafe on the coafl of Gallicia in the beginning of the year 1746, after having been abfent between four and five years, and having, by his attendance on our expedition, diminifhed the naval power of Spain by above three thoufand hands, (the flower of their failors) and by four confiderable fhips of war and a Patache. For ( 33 ) ■we have feen, that the Hermiona foundered at lea 3 the Guipufcoa was llranded, and funk on the coaSt of Brazil 3 the St. EJlevan was condemned, and broke up in the river of Plate 3 and the Ef~ peranza being left in the South-Seas, is doubtlefs by this time inca- pable of returning to Spain. So that the Afia only, with lefs than one hundred hands, may be regarded as all the remains of that fquadron, with which Pizarro firSl put to fea. And whoever con- siders the very large proportion, which this fquadron bore to the whole navy of Spain , will, I believe, confefs, that had our under- taking been attended with no other advantages than that of ruining fo great a part of the fea-force of fo dangerous an enemy, this alone would be a fufficient equivalent for our equipment, and an incon- testable proof of the fervice, which the Nation has thence received. Having thus concluded this Summary of Pizarro 1 s adventures, I Shall now return again to the narration of our own tranfadtions. F C H A P. f 34 ) CHAP. IV. From Madera to St Catherine s. I HAVE already mentioned, that on the 3d of November we weighed from Madera , after orders had been given to the Cap- tains to rendezvous at St. Jago , one of the Cape de Verd Blands, in cafe the fquadron was feparated. But the next day, when we were got to fea, the Commodore confidering that the feafon was far advanced, and that touching at St. 'Jago would cre- ate a new delay, he for this reafon thought proper to alter his ren- dezvous, and to appoint the Illand of St. Catherine's , on the coaft of Brazil \ to be the fir ft place to which the ftiips of the fquadron were to repair in cafe of feparation. In our paffage to the Illand of St. Catherine' s, we found the di- rection of the trade-winds to differ confiderably from what we had reafon to expect, both from the general hiftories given of thefe winds, and the experience of former Navigators. For the learned Dr. Halley , in his account of the trade winds, which take place in the Ethiopic and Atlantic Ocean, tells us, that from the latitude of 2 8° N, to the latitude of 1 o° N, there is generally a frefh gale of N. E. wind, which towards the African fide rarely comes to the eaftward of E.N. E, or paffes to the northward of N. N, E : But on the American fide, the wind is fomewhat more eafterly, though moft commonly even there it is a point or two to the northward of the Eaft : That from io° N. to 4° N, the calms and tornadoes take place ; and from 4 0 N. to 30° S, the winds are generally and per- petually between the South and the Eaft. This account we ex- pected to have verified by our own experience ; but we found con- fiderable variations from it, both in refpedt to the fteadinefs of the winds, and the quarter from whence they blew. For though we met v/ith a N, E. wind about the latitude of 28° N, yet from the 4 latitude ( 35 ) latitude of 25° to the latitude of 18 0 N, the wind was never once to the northward of the Eaft, but on the contrary, almoft conftantiy to the fouthward of it. However, from thence to the latitude of 6° : 2.0 N, we had it ufually to the northward of the Eaft, though not entirely, it having for a fhort time changed to E.S. E. From hence, to about 4 0 46' N, the weather was very unfettled ; fome- times the wind was N. E. then changed to S. E, and fometimes we had a dead calm, attended with fmall rain and lightning. After this, the wind continued almoft invariably between the S. and E, to the latitude of y° : 30' S 3 and then again as invariably between the N. and E, to the latitude of 1 5 0 : 30' S ; then E. and S. E, to 21°: 37' S. But after this, even to the latitude of 27 0 : 44 S, the wind was never once between the S. and the E, though we had it at times in all the other quarters of the compafs. But this laft circumftance may be in feme meafure accounted for, from our approach to the main continent of the Brazils. I mention not thefe particulars with a view of cavilling at the received accounts of thefe trade-winds, which I doubt not are in general fufficientiy accurate j but I thought it a matter worthy of public notice, that fuch devia- tions from the eftablifhed rules do fometimes take place. Betides this obfervation may not only be of fervice to Navigators, by putting them on their guard againft thefe hitherto unexpected irregularities, but is a circumftance neceftary to be attended to in the folution of that great queftion about the caufes of trade-winds, and monfoons, a queftion, which, in my opinion, has not been hitherto difcufted with that clearnefs and accuracy, which its importance (whether it be confidered as a naval or philofophical inquiry) feems to demand. On the 1 6th of November , one of our Victuallers made a ftgnal to fpeak with the Commodore, and we ftiortned fail for her. to come up with us. The Mafter came on board, and acquainted Mr. An- Jon , that he had complied with the terms of his charter-party, and defired to be unloaded and difmifted. Mr. Anfon , on confulting the Captains of the fquadron, found all the flips had fill fuch quan- tities of provif on between their decks, and were withal fo deep, F 2 that ( 3 6 ) that they could not without great difficulty take in their feveral pro- portions of brandy from the Indujlry Pink, one of the Victuallers only : Confequently he was obliged to continue the other of them, the Anna Pink , in the fervice of attending the fquadron. This be- ing refolved on, the Commodore the next day made a iignal for the. fhips to bring to, and to take on board their lhares of the brandy from the Induflry Pink ; and in this, the long boats of the fquadron were employed the three following days, that is, till the 19th in the even- ing, when the Pink being unloaded, fhe parted company with us, being bound for Barbadoes , there to take in a freight for England . Mod: of the Officers of the fquadron took the opportunity of writing to their friends at home by this fhip; but fhe was afterwards, as I have been fince informed, unhappily taken by the Spaniards. On the 20th of November , the Captains of the fquadron repre- fented to the Commodore, that their fhips companies were very fickly, and that it was their own opinion as well as their furgecns, that it would tend to the prefervation of the men to let in more air be- tween decks ; but that their fhips were fo deep, they could not. poflibly open their lower ports. On this reprefentation, the Com- modore ordered fix air fcuttles to be cut in each fliip, in fuch places where they would lead weaken it. And on this occalion I cannot but obferve, how much it is the duty of all thofe, who either by office or authority, have any influence in the direction of our naval affairs, to attend to this important ar- ticle, the prefervation of the lives and health of our feamen. If it could be fuppofed, that the motives of humanity were infufficient for this purpofe, yet policy, and a regard to the fuccefs of our arms, 'and the intereft and honour of each particular Commander, fhould naturally lead us to a careful and impartial examination of every probable method propofed for maintaining a Chip's crew in health and vigour. But hath this been always done ? Have the late in- vented plain and obvious methods of keeping our fhips fweet and clean, by a conftant fupply of frefh air, been confidered with that candour and temper, which the great benefits promifed hereby ought ( 37 ) ought naturally to have infpired ? On the contrary, have not the’fe falutary fchemes been often treated with negled: and contempt? And have not fome of thofe who have been entrufted with expe- rimenting their effedts, been guilty of the moft indefenfible partia- lity, in the accounts they have given of thefe trials? Indeed, it muft be confelTed, that many diftinguiflied perfons, both in the direction and command of our fleets, have exerted themfelves on thefe occafions with a judicious and difpaflionate examination, be- coming the interefting nature of the inquiry; but the wonder is, that any could be found irrational enough to adt a contrary part, in de- fpight of the ftrongefl: didtates of prudence and humanity. I muft however own, that I do not believe this condudt to have arifen from motives fo favage, as the firft reflection thereon does naturally fug- ged: : But I rather impute it to an obftinate, and in fome degree, fu- perfliitious attachment to fuch pradtices as have been long eftablifhed, and to a fettled contempt and hatred of all kinds of innovations, efpecially fuch as are projedted by landmen and perfons refiding on fhore. But let us return from this, I hope not, impertinent di- greflion. We crofled the equinodtial with a fine frefh gale at S. E, on Friday the 28 th of November , at four in the morning, being then in the longitude of 27° : 59 W. from London. And on the 2d of December , in the morning, we faw a fail in the N. W. quarter, and made the Gloucester ' s and Fryal’s fignals to chafe ; and half an hour after, we let out our reefs and chafed with the fquadron; and about noon a fignal was made for the Wager* to take our remaining Vic- tualler, the Anna Fink , in tow. But at feven in the evening, find- ing we did not near the chace, and that the Wager was very far a-ftern, we fhortened fail, and made a fignal for the cruizers to join the fquadron. The next day but one we again difeovered a fail, which, on a nearer approach, we judged to be the fame veflel. We chafed her the whole day, and though we rather gained upon her, yet night came on before we could overtake her, which obliged us to give over the chace, to collect our fcattered fquadron. We were much ( 3 » ) much chagrined at the efcape of this veffel, as we then apprehend- ed her to be an advice-boat fent from Old Spain to Buenos Ayres , with notice of our expedition. But we have fince learnt, that we were deceived in this conjedlure, and that it was our Eajl-India Company’s Packet bound to St. Helena. On the i oth of December , being by our accounts in the latitude of 20° S, and 36° : 30' longitude Weft from London , the Tryal fired a gun to denote foundings. We immediately founded, and found fixty fathom water, the bottom coarfe ground with broken fhells. The Fryal being a-head of us, had at one time thirty-feven fathom, which afterwards increafed to 90: And then fhe found no bottom, which happened to us too at our fecond trial, though we founded with a hundred and fifty fathom of line. This is the fhoal which is laid down in moft charts by the name of the Abrollos - y and it appeared we were upon the very edge of it ; per- haps farther in, it may be extremely dangerous. We were then, by our different accounts, from ninety to fixty leagues Eaft of the coaft of Brazil. The next day but one we fpoke with a Portu- guefe Brigantine from Rio “Janeiro , bound to Bahia del todos Santos y who informed us, that we were thirty four leagues from Cape St. Lhomas , and forty leagues from Cape Frio , which laft bore from us W. S. W. By our accounts we were near eighty leagues from Cape Frio ; and though, on the information of this Brigantine, we altered our courfe, and flood more to the fouthward, yet by ou r coming in with the land afterwards, we were fully convinced that our reckoning was much corredter than our Portuguefe intelligence. We found a confiderable current fetting to the fouthward, after we had paffed the latitude of 1 6° S. And the fame took place all along- the coaft of Brazil , and even to the fouthward of the river of Plate , it amounting fometimes to thirty miles in twenty-four hours, and once to above forty miles. If this current is occasioned (as it is moft probable) by the run- ning off of the water, accumulated on the coaft of Brazil by the con ft ant fweeping of the -eaftern trade-wind over the Ethiopia Ocean, 1 ( 39 ) Ocean, then it is moil natural to fuppofe, that its general courfe is determined by the bearings of the adjacent {hore. Perhaps too, in almoft every other inftance of currents, the fame may hold true, as I believe no examples occur of confiderable currents being obferved at any great diftance from land. If this then could be laid down for a general principle, it would be always eafy to corredbthe reckon- ing by the obferved latitude. But it were much to be wifhed, for the general interefts of navigation, that the acftual fettings of the different currents which are known to take place in various parts of the world, were examined more frequently and accurately than hi- therto appears to have been done. We now began to grow impatient for a fight of land, both for the recovery of our fick, and for the refrefhment and fecurity of thofe who as yet continued healthy. When we departed from St. Helens , we were in fo good a condition, that we loft but two men on board the Centurion , in our long paffage to Madera. But in this prefent run between Madera and St. Catherine's we were remark- ably ftckly, fo that many died, and great numbers were confined to their hammocks, both in our own fhip and in the reft of the fqua- dron, and feveral of thefe paft all hopes of recovery. The difor- ders they in general laboured under were fuch as are common to the hot climates, and what moft fhips bound to the fouthward experi- ence in a greater or lefs degree. Thefe are thofe kind of fevers, which they ufually call Calentures : A difeafe, which was not only terrible in its firft inftance, but even the remains of it often proved fatal to thofe who confidered themfelves as recovered from it. For it always left them in a very weak and helplefs condition, and ufually afrlidted either with fluxes or tenefmus’s. By our continu- ance at fea all thefe complaints were every day increaflng, fo that it was with great joy we difcovered the coaft of Brazil on the i 8th of December , at feven in the morning. The coaft of Brazil appeared high and mountainous land, ex- tending from the W. to W. S. W, and when we firft faw it, it was: about ( 40 ) about feventeen leagues diftant. At noon We perceived a low dou- ble land, bearing W. S. W. about ten leagues diftant, which we took to be the Iiland of St. Catherine's. That afternoon and the next morning, the wind being N. N. W, we gained very little to windward, and were apprehenfive of being driven to the leeward of the Ifland ; but a little before noon, the next day, the wind came about to the fouthward, and enabled us to fteer in between the North point of St. Catherine s , and the neighbouring Iiland of Ahoredo. As we flood in for the land, we had regular foundings gradually de- crealing, from thirty-fix to twelve fathom, all muddy ground. In this laft depth of water we let go our anchor at five o’clock in the evening of the 1 8th, the North Weft point of the Iiland of St. Ca- therine's bearing S. S. W, diftant three miles ; and the Iiland Ahoredo N.N.E, diftant tv/o leagues. Here we found the tide to fet S.S.E. and N.N.W, at the rate of two knots, the tide of flood coming from the fouthward. We could from our Ihips obferve two forti- fications at a confiderable diftance within us, which feemed defigned to prevent the paflage of an enemy between the Iiland of St. Cathe- rine's and the main. And we could foon perceive that our fqua- dron had alarmed the coaft, for we faw the two forts hoift their colours, and fire feveral guns, which we fuppofed were fignals for aflembling the inhabitants. To prevent any confulion, the Commodore immediately fent a boat with an Officer on ffiore, to compliment the Governor, and to defire a Pilot to carry us into the road. The Governor returned a very civil anfwer, and ordered us a Pilot. On the morning of the 20th we weighed and flood in, and towards noon the Pilot came on boaad us, who, the fame af- ternoon, brought us to an anchor in five fathom and an half, in a large commodious bay on the continent fide, called by the French , Bon Port. In Handing from our laft anchorage to this place, we every where found an ouzy bottom, with a depth of water firft re- gularly decreafing to five fathom, and then increafing to feven, af- ter which we had fix and five fathom alternately. The next morn- ( 4i ) ing we weighed again with the fquadron, in order to run above the two fortifications we have mentioned, which are called the cattles of Santa Cruiz and S t.Juan. Our foundings now between the Il- land and the Main were four, five and fix fathom, with mud- dy ground. As we palfed by the caltle of Santa Cruiz we faluted. it with eleven guns, and were anfwered by an equal number ; and ■at one in the afternoon, the fquadron came to an anchor in five fa- thom and a half, the Governor’s Illand bearing N. N, W, St. Juan ' s Caltle N. E. ~ E, and the Illand of St. Antonio South. In this polition we moored at the Illand of St. Catherine's on Sunday the 2 i It of December , the whole fquadron being, as I have already mention- ed, fickly, and in great want of refrelhments : Both which incon- veniences we hoped to have foon removed at this fettlement, cele- brated by former Navigators for its healthinefs and the plenty of its provifions, and for the freedom, indulgence, and friendly afliltance there given to the Ihips of all European Nations, in amity with the Crown of Portugal. G CHAP ( 42 ) CHAP. V. Proceedings at St. Catherine 's, and a defcription of the place, with a fhort account of Brazil. O U R firfl care, after having moored our fhips, was to get our lick men on fhore, preparatory to which, each fhip was ordered by the Commodore to ereCt two tents : One of them for the reception of the difeafed, and the other for the ac- commodation of the furgeon and his affiftants. We fent about eighty lick from the Centurion , and the other fhips I believe fent nearly as many, in proportion to the number of their hands. As foon as we had performed this neceffary duty, we fcraped our decks, and gave our fhip a thorough cleanfing; then fmoked it between decks, and after all wafhed every part well with vinegar. Thefe operati- ons were extremely neceffary for correcting the noifome flench on board, and deftroying the vermin ; for from the number of our men, and the heat of the climate, both thefe nuifances had in- creafed upon us to a very loathfome degree, and befides being moft intolerably ofFenfive, they were doubtlefs in fome fort productive of the ficknefs we had laboured under for a confiderable time, before our arrival at this Ifland. Our next employment was wooding and watering our fqua- dron, caulking our fhips fides and decks, overhaling our rigging, and fecuring our mails againft the tempefluous weather we were, in all probability, to meet with in our paffage round Cape Horn , in fo advanced and inconvenient a feafon. But before I engage in the particulars of thefe tranfaCtions, it will not be improper to give fome account of the prefent flate of this Ifland of St. Catherine's , and of the neighbouring country ; both as the circumftances of this place are now greatly changed from what they were in the time of former writers, and as thefe changes laid us under many more difficulties and ( 43 ) and perplexities than we had reafon to expedt, or than other Britijh fhips, hereafter bound to the South-Seas , may perhaps think it pru- dent to ftruggle with. This Illand is efteemed by the natives to be no where above two leagues in breadth, though about nine in length ; it lies in 49° : 45 of Weft longitude from London , and extends from the South lati- tude of 27 0 ’3 5', to that of 28°. Although it be of a conliderable height, yet it is fcarce difcernihle at the diftance of ten leagues, be- ing then obfcured under the continent of Brazil , whofe mountains are exceeding high ; but on a nearer approach it is eafy to be dif- tinguifhed, and may be readily known by a number of fmall Iftands lying at each end, and fcattered along the Eaft fide of it. In the annexed plate there is exhibited a very exadt view of the N. E. end of the Illand, where (a) is its N. E. point, as it appears when it bears N. W. And {b) is the fmall Illand of Alvoredo , bear- ing N. N. W, at the diftance of 7 leagues. The beft entrance to the harbour is between the point ( a ) and the Illand of Alvoredo , where fhips may pafs under the guidance of their lead, without the leaft apprehenfions of danger. The view of this North entrance of the harbour is reprefented in the fecond plate, where (a) is the N.W. end of St. Catherine’s Illand, (b) Parrot Illand, (c) a battery on St. Catherine's , and (d) a battery on a fmall Illand near the continent. Frezier has given a draught of this Ifland of St. Catherine’s , and of the neighbouring coaft, and the minuter ifles adjacent j but he has by miftake called the Ifland of Alvoredo the Ille de Gal , whereas the true Ille de Gal lies feven or eight miles to the North- weft ward of it, and is much fmaller. He has alfo called an Illand, to the fouthward of St. Catherine’s , Alvoredo , and has omitted the Illand Mafaqura ; in other refpedts his plan is fufficiently exadt. The North entrance of the harbour is in breadth about live miles, and the diftance from thence to the Ifland of St. Antonio is eight miles, and the courfe from the entrance to St. Antonio is S. S .W. i- W. About the middle of the Illand the harbour is contracted by two points of land to a narrow channel, no more than a quarter of a G 2 mile ( 44 ) mile broad * and to defend this paflfage, a battery was erecting on the point of land on the Ifland fide. But this feems to be a very ufe~ lefs work, as the channel has no more than two fathom water, and confequently is navigable only for barks and boats, and therefore feems to be a paflage that an enemy could have no inducement to at- tempt, efpecially as the common paflage at the North end of the Ifland is fo broad and fafe, that no fquadron can be prevented from coming in by any of their fortifications, when the fea-breeze is made. However, the Brigadier Don Jofe Syha de Paz , the Governor of this fettlement, is eflieemed an expert Engineer, and he doubtlels under- Hands one branch of his bufinefs very well, which is the advan- tages which new works bring to thofe who are entrufted with the care of erecting them : For befides the battery mentioned above, there are three other forts carrying on for the defence of the har- bour, none of which are yet compleated. The firft of thefe, cal- led St. 'Juan , is built on a point of St. Catherine's near Parrot Ifland; the fecond, in form of a half moon, is on the Ifland of St. Anto - nio-y and the third, which feems to be the chief, and has fome ap- pearance of a regular fortification, is on an Ifland near the conti- nent, where the Governor refides. The foil of the Ifland is truly luxuriant, producing fruits of many kinds fpontaneoufly j and the ground is covered over with one conti- nued forefl; of trees of a perpetual verdure, which from the exube- rance of the foil, are fo entangled with briars, thorns, and under- wood, as to form a thicket abfolutely impenetrable, except by fome narrow pathways which the inhabitants have made for their own convenience. Thefe, with a few fpots cleared for plantations along the fhore facing the continent, are the only uncovered parts of the Ifland. The woods are extremely fragrant, from the many aromatick trees and Ihrubs with which they abound j and the fruits and vegetables of all climates thrive here, almoH without cul- ture, and are to be procured in great plenty j fo that here is no want of pine-apples, peaches, grapes, oranges, lemons, citrons, melons, apricots, nor plantains. There are befides great abundance of two other ( 45 ) other productions of no fmall confideration for a fea-ftore, I mean onions and potatoes. The flefh provifions are however much inferior to the vegetables : There are indeed fmall wild cattle to be purchafed, fomewhat like buffaloes, but thefe are very indifferent food, their flefh being of a loofe contexture, and generally of a difagreeable flavour, which is probably owing to the wild calabafh on which they feed. There are likewife great plenty of pheafants, but they are not to be compared in tafle to thofe we have in Eng- land, The other provifions of the place are monkeys, parrots, and above all fifh of various forts, thefe abound in the harbour, are ex- ceeding good, and are eafily catched, for there are a great number of fmall fandy bays very convenient for haling the Seyne . The water both on the Ifland and the oppofite continent is ex- cellent,. and preferves at fea as well as that of the ‘Thames, For after it has been in the calk a day or two it begins to purge itfelf, and ftinks mod: intolerably,, and is foon covered over with a green fcum : But this, in a few days, fubfides to the bottom, and leaves the water as clear as chryftal, and perfectly fweet. The French (who, du- ring their South-Sea trade in. Queen Anne's reign firft brought this place into repute) ufually wooded and watered in Bon Port , on the continent fide, where they anchored with great fafety in fix fathom water j and this is doubtlefs the moft commodious road for fuch fhips as intend to make only a fhort ftay. But we watered on the St. Catherine's fide, at a plantation oppofite to the Ifland of Sty Antonio. Thefe are the advantages of this Ifland of St. Catherine' s ; but there are many inconveniencies attending it, partly from its climate but more from its new regulations, and the late form of government eftablifhed there. With regard to the climate, it muff be remem- bred, that the woods and hills which furround the harbour, pre- vent a free circulation of the air. And the vigorous vegetation which conftantly takes place there, furnifhes fuch a prodigious quan- tity of vapour, that all the night and a great part of the morning a thick fog covers the whole country, and continues till either the fun. ( +6 ) fun gathers ftrength to difiipate it, or it is difperfed by a brilk fea-breeze. This renders the place clofe and humid, and probably occafioned the many fevers and fluxes we were there afflibted with. To thefe exceptions I muft not omit to add, that all the day we were peftered with great numbers of mufcatos, which are not much unlike the gnats in England, but more venemous in their flings. And at fun-fet, when the mufcatos retired, they were fuc- ceeded by an infinity of fand-flies, which, though fcarce difcerni- ble to the naked eye, make a mighty buzzing, and wherever they bite raife a fmail bump in the flefh, which is foon attended with a painful itching, like that arifing from the bite of an Englifh harvefl: bug. But as the only light in which this place deferves our confidera- tion, is its favourable fituation for fupplying and refrefhing our cruizers intended for the South-Seas : In this view its greateib in- conveniences remain hill to be related ; and to do this more di- ftindtly, it will not be amifs to confider the changes which it has lately undergone, both in its inhabitants, its police, and its go- vernor. In the time of Frezier and Shelvocke, this place ferved only as a retreat to vagabonds and outlaws, who fled thither from all parts of Brazil . They did indeed acknowledge a fubjedtion to the Crown of Portugal , and had a perfon among them whom they called their Captain, who was confidered in fome fort as their Governor : But both their allegiance to their King, and their obedience to their Captain, feemed to be little more than verbal. For as they had plenty of provifions but no money, they were in a condition to fupport themfelves without the afliftance of any neighbouring fet- tlements, and had not amongfl: them the means of tempting any adjacent Governor to bufy his authority about them. In this fitu- ation they were extremely hofpitable and friendly to fuch foreign fhips as came amongfl; them. For thefe fhips wanting only provi- fions, of which the natives had great ftore ; and the natives want- ing clothes, (for they often defpifed money, and refufed to take it) which ( 47 ) which the fhips furnifhed them with in exchange for their provi- lions, both lides found their account in this traffic ; and their Cap- tain or Governor had neither power nor filtered: to refrain it or to tax it. But of late (for reafons which ffiall be hereafter mentioned) thefe honed vagabonds have been obliged to receive amongd them a new colony, and to fubmit to new laws and new forms of govern- ment. Indead of their former ragged bare legged Captain (whom however they took care to keep innocent) they have now the honour to be governed by Don jofe Syha de Paz , a Brigadier of the armies of Portugal. This Gentleman has with him a garrifon of foldiers, and has confequently a more extenfive and a better fupported pow- er than any of his predeceffors, and as he wears better clothes, and lives more fplendidly, and has belides a much better knowledge of the importance of money than they could ever pretend to : So he puts in practice certain methods of procuring it, with which they were utterly unacquainted. But it may be much doubted, if the inhabitants conlider thefe methods as tending to promote either their intereds, or that of their Sovereign the King of Portugal* This is certain, that his behaviour cannot but be extremely em- barraffing to fuch Britifh ihips as touch there in their way to the South-Seas. For one of his practices was placing centinels at all the avenues, to prevent the people from felling us any refreffiments, except at fuch exorbitant rates as we could not afford to give. His pretence for this extraordinary dretch of power v/as, that he was obliged to preferve their provifions for upwards of an hundred fa- milies, which they daily expected to reinforce their colony. Hence he appears to be no novice in his profeffion, by his readinefs at in- venting a plaufible pretence for his intereded management. Howe- ver, this, though fufficiently provoking, was far from being the mod: exceptionable part of his conduct. For by the neighbour- hood of the river Plate , a considerable fmuggling traffic is carried on between the Portuguefe and the Spaniards , efpecially in the ex- changing gold for fiver, by which both Princes are defrauded of their fifths, and in this prohibited commerce Don jofe was fo deeply 4 engaged. engaged, that in order to ingratiate himfelF with his Spanijh corres- pondents (for no other reafon can be given for his procedure) he treacheroufly difpatched an exprefs to Buenos Ayres in the river of Plate , where Pizarro then lay, with an account of our arrival, and of the flrength of our fquadron; particularly mentioning the number of fhips, guns and men, and every circumflance which he could fuppofe our enemy delirous of being acquainted with. And the fame perfidy every Britijh cruizer may expert, who touches at St. Cathe- rine's , while it is under the Government of Don Jofe Sylva de Paz. Thus much, with what we fhall be neceflitated to relate in the courfe of our own proceedings, may fixffice as to the prefent ftate of St. Catherine's , and the character of its Governor. But as the reader may be defirous of knowing to what caufes the late new mo- delling of this fetdement is owing j to fatisfy him in this particular, it will be neceflary to give a fhort account of the adjacent continent of Brazil , and of the wonderful difcoveries which have been made there within this laft forty years, which, from a country of but mean eftimation, has rendered it now perhaps the moft confiderable colony on the face of the globe. This country was firit difcovered by Americas Vefputio a Floren- tine , who had the good fortune to be honoured with giving his name to the immenfe continent, fome time before found out by Columbus. Vefputio being in the fervice of the Portuguefe, it was fettled and planted by that Nation, and with the other dominions of Por- tugal, devolved to the Crown of Spain, when that Kingdom be- came fubjeCt to it. During the long war between Spain and the States of Holland, the Dutch pofiefled themfelves of the northermoft part of Brazil, and were mailers of it for fome years. But when the Portuguefe revolted from the Spanijh Government, this country took part in the revolt, and foon repolfefied themfelves of the places the Dutch had taken ; fince which time it has continued without inter- ruption under the Crown of Portugal, being, till the beginning of the prefent century, only productive of fugar, and tobacco, and a few other commodities of very little account. 4 But ( 49 ) But this country, which for many years was only conlidered for the produce of its plantations, has been lately difcovered to abound with the two minerals, which mankind hold in the greated edeem, and which they exert their utmod art and indudry in acquiring, I mean, gold and diamonds. Gold was fird found in the mountains, which lie adjacent to the city of Rio 'Janeiro. The occafion of its difcovery is varioufly related, but the mod: common account is, that the Indian s, lying on the back of the Portuguefe fettlements, were obferved by the foldiers employed in an expedition againd them to make ufe of this metal for their fifh hooks j and their man- ner of procuring it being enquired into, it appeared that great quan- tities of it were annually waflied from the hills, and left amongd the fand and gravel, which remained in the vallies after the run- ning off, or evaporation of the water. It is now little more than forty years fince any quantities of gold worth notice have been imported to Europe from Brazil 5 but fince that time the annual imports from thence have been continually augmented by the dif- covery of places in other provinces, where it is to be met with as plentifully as at fird about Rio Janeiro. And it is now laid, that there is a fmall flender vein of it fpread through all the country, at about twenty-four feet from the furface, but that this vein is too thin and poor to anfwer the expence of digging ; however where the rivers or rains have had any courfe for a confiderable time, there gold is always to be collected, the water having feparated the me- tal from the earth, and depofited it in the fands, thereby faving the expences of digging : So that it is edeemed an infallible gain to be able to divert a dream from its channel, and to ranfack its bed. From this account of gathering this metal, it Ihould follow, that there are properly no gold mines in Brazil j and this the Gover- nor of Rio Grande (who being at St. Catherine's , frequently vifited Mr. Anfon) did mod confidently affirm, afluring us, that the gold was all collected either from rivers, or from the beds of torrents af- ter floods. It is indeed afierted, that in the mountains, large rocks are found abounding with this metal j and I myfelf have feen the fragment of one of thefe rocks with a confiderable lump of gold in- H tangled ( s° ) tangled in it ; but even in this cafe, the workmen break off the rocks* and do not properly mine into them ; and the great expence in fub lifting among tkefe mountains, and afterwards in feparating the metal from the ttone, makes this method of procuring gold to be but rarely put in practice. The examining the bottoms of rivers, and the gullies of torrents, and the wafhing the gold found therein from the fand and dirt, with which it is always mixed, are works performed by flaves, who are principally Negroes, kept in great numbers by the Portuguefe for thefe purpofes. The regulation of the duty of thefe flaves is lin- gular: For they are each of them obliged to fur nil'll their matter with the eighth part of an ounce of gold per diem • and if they are either fo fortunate or induttrious as to colleCt a greater quantity, the furplus is coniidered as their own property, and they have the liberty of difpofing of it as they think fit. So that it is faid fome Negroes who have accidentally fallen upon rich wafhing places have themfelves purchafed flaves, and have lived afterwards in great fplendor, their original matter having no other demand on them than the daily fupply of the forementioned eighth ; which as the Portuguefe ounce is fome what lighter than our troy ounce, may a- mount to about nine fhillings tterling. The quantity of gold thus collected in the Brazils, and returned annually to Lifbon, may be in fome degree ettimated from the a- mount of the King’s fifth. This hath of late been efteemed one year with another to be one hundred and fifty arroves of 32/. Por- tuguefe weight each, which at 4/, the troy ounce, makes very near 300,000 /. tterling; and confequently the capital, of which this is the fifth, is about a million and a half tterling. It is obvious that the annual return of gold to Lifbon cannot be lefs than this, though it be difficult to determine how much it exceeds it ; perhaps we may not be very much miftaken in our conjecture, if we fuppofe the gold exchanged for filver with the Spaniards at Buenos Ayres, and what is brought privily to Europe, and efcapes the duty, amounts to near half a million more, which will make the whole annual produce of the Brafilian gold near two millions tterling; a prodi- 4 gious ( 5 * ) :gious jfum to be found in a country, which a few years hnce was not known to furnifh a tingle grain. I have already mentioned, that betides gold, this country does likewife produce diamonds. The difcovery of thefe valuable ftones is much more recent than that of gold, it being as yet fcarce twenty years tince the firth were brought to Europe. They are found in the fame manner as the gold, in the gullies of torrents and beds of rivers, but only in particular places, and not fo univerfally fpread through the country. They were often found in walking the gold before they were known to be diamonds, and were confequently thrown away with the fand and gravel feparated from it. And it is very well remembered, that numbers of very large ftones, which would have made the fortunes of the poffeflbrs, have palled unregarded through the hands of thofe, who now with impatience fupport the mortifying reflection . However, about twenty years fince, a per- fon acquainted with the appearance of rough diamonds, conceived that thefe pebbles, as they were then efteemed, were of the fame kind : But it is faid, that there was a confiderable interval between the firft ftarting of this opinion, and the confirmation of it by pro- per trials and examination, it proving difficult to perfuade the in- habitants, that what they had been long accuftomed to defpife, could be of the importance reprefented by this difcovery; and I have been informed, that in this interval, a Governor of one of their places procured a good number of thefe ftones, which he pretend- ed to make ufe of at cards to mark with, inftead of counters. But it was at laft confirmed by fkilful Jewellers in Europe , confulted on this occafion, that the ftones thus found in Brazil were truly dia- monds, many of which were not inferiour either in luftre, or any other quality to thofe of the Eafl-Indies. On this determination the Portuguefe , in the neighbourhood of thofe places where they had firft been obferved, let themfelves to fearch for them with great affiduity. And they were not without great hopes of dif- covering confiderable maffes of them, as they found large rocks H 2 of ( 52 ) of chriftal in many of the mountains, from whence the dreams came which wafhed down the diamonds. But it was foon reprefented to the King of Portugal , that if fuch plenty of diamonds fhould be met with as their fanguine conjec- tures feemed to indicate, this would fo debafe their value, and di- minifh their eftimation, that belides ruining all the Europeans , who had any quantity of Indian diamonds in their pofleflion, it would render the difcovery itfelf of no importance, and would prevent his Majefty from receiving any advantages from it. And on thefe con- iiderations his Majefty has thought proper to reftrain the general fearch of diamonds, and has erected a Diamond Company for that purpofe, with an exclufive charter. This Company, in confidera- tion of a fum paid to the King, is veiled with the property of all diamonds found in Brazil: But to hinder their collecting too large quantities, and thereby reducing their value, they are pro- hibited from employing above eight hundred (laves in fearching af- ter them. And to prevent any of his other fubjeCts from aCting the fame part, and likewife to fecure the Company from being de- frauded by the interfering of interlopers in their trade and property, he has depopulated a large town, and a confiderable diftriCt round it, and has obliged the inhabitants, who are faid to amount to fix thoufand, to remove to another part of the country j for this town being in the neighbourhood of the diamonds, it was thought impof- fible to prevent fuch a number of people, who were on the fpot, from frequently fmuggling. In confequence of thefe important difcoveries in Brazil , new laws, new governments, and new regulations have been eflablifhed in many parts of the country. For not long (ince, a confiderable traCt, poflefted by a fet of inhabitants, who from their principal fet- tlement were called Paulijis, was almoft independent of the Crown of Portugal , to which it fcarcely acknowledged more than a nominal allegiance. Thefe Pauli [is are faid to be defendants of thofe Portuguefe, who retired from the northern part of Brazil, when ( S3 ) when it was invaded and poffeffed by the Dutch. As from the confufion of the times they were long neglected by their fuperiors, and were obliged to provide for their own fecurity and defence, the neceffity of their affairs produced a kind of government amongft them, which they found fufficient for the confined manner of life to which they were inured. And being thus habituated to their own regulations, they at length grew fond of their independency : So that rejecting and defpifing the mandates of the Court of Lijbon , they were often engaged in a ftate of downright rebellion : And the mountains furrounding their country, and the difficulty of clearing the few paffages that open into it, generally put it in their power to make their own terms before they fubmitted. But as gold was found to abound iri this country of the Paulijls , the prefent King of Portugal (during whofe reign almoft the whole difcoveries I have mentioned were begun and compleated) thought it incumbent on him to reduce this province, which now became of great confequence, to the fame dependency and obedience with the reft of the country, which, I am told, he has at laft, though with great difficulty, happily effected . And the fame motives which induced his Majefty to undertake the reduction of the Pau~ lijls, has alfo occafioned the changes I have mentioned, to have taken place at the Ifland of St. Catherine's. For the Governor of Rio Grande , of whom I have already fpoken, allured us, that in the neighbourhood of this Ifland there were confiderable rivers which were found to be extremely rich, and that this was the reafon that a garrifon, a military Governor, and a hew colony was fettled there. And as the harbour at this Ifland is by much the fecureft and the moll capacious of any on the coaft, it is not improbable, if the riches of the neighbourhood anfwer their expectation, but it may become in time the principal fettlement in Brazil , and the moft confiderable port in all South America. Thus much I have thought neceffary to infert, in relation to the prefent ftate of Brazil , and of the Ifland of St. Catherine's . For as this laft place has been generally recommended as the moft eligible port for our cruifers to refrefh at, which are bound to the South— - Seas :> ( 54 ) Seas, I believed it to be my duty to inhruCt my countrymen, in the hitherto unfufpeCted inconveniencies which attend that place. And as the Brajilian gold and diamonds are fubjeCts, about which, from their novelty, very few particulars have been hitherto publilhed, I conceived this account I had collected of them, would appear to the reader to be neither a trifling nor a ufelefs digreflion. Thefe fub- jeCts being thus difpatched, I flhall now return to the feries of our own proceedings, When we firh arrived at St. Catherine's , we were employed in refrelhing our lick on fnore, in wooding and watering the fquadron, cleanflng our Ihips, and examining and fecuring our malls and rig- ging, as I have already obferved in the foregoing chapter. At the fame time Mr. Anfon gave directions, that the Ihips companies Ihould be fupplied with frelh meat, and that they Ihould be victu- alled with whole allowance of all the kinds of proviflon. In can- fequence of thefe orders, we had frelh beef fent on board us con- tinually for our daily expence, and what was wanting to make up our allowance we received from our Victualler the Anna Pink , in order to preferve the provilions on board our fquadron entire for our future fervice. The feafon of the year growing each day lefs favou- rable for our paflage round Cape Horn , Mr. Anfon was very defi- rous of leaving this place alfoon as pofliblej and we were at firll in hopes that cur whole bufinefs would be done, and we Ihould be in a readinefs to fail in about a fortnight from our arrival : But, on examining the Tryal’s malts, we, to our no fmall vexation, found inevitable employment for twice that time. For, on a furvey, it was found that the main-mall was fprung at the upper woulding, though it was thought capable of being fecured by a couple of Allies ; but the fore-mall was reported to be unfit for fervice, and thereupon the Carpenters were fent into the woods, to endeavour to find a hick proper for a fore-mah. But after a fearch of four days, they returned without having been able to meet with any tree fit for the purpofe. This obliged them to come to a fecond con- fultation about the old fore-mah, when it was agreed to endeavour to fecure it by cafing it with three filhes : And in this work the Carpenters ( 5 5 ) Carpenters were employed, till within a day or two of our failing. In the mean time, the Commodore thinking it necertary to have a clean veffel on our arrival in the South- Seas, ordered the Tryal to be hove down, as this would not occafion any lofs of time, but might be compleated while the Carpenters were refitting her marts, which was done on fhore. On the 27th of December we aifcovered a fail in the offing, and not knowing but die might be a Spaniard , the eighteen oared-boat was manned and armed, and fent under the command of our fe- cond Lieutenant, to examine her, before the arrived within the protection of the forts. She proved to be a Portugueje Brigantine from Rio Grande. And though our Officer, as it appeared on in- quiry, had behaved with the utmoft civility to the Matter, and had refufed to accept a calf, which the Matter would have forced on him as a prefent : Yet the Governor took great offence at our fending our boat 3 and talked of it in a high rtrain, as a violation of the peace fubfirting between the Crowns of Great-Britain and’ Portugal. We at firrt imputed this ridiculous bluftering to no deeper a caufe, than Don Jofe’s infolence; but as we found he pro- ceeded fo far as to charge our Officer with behaving rudely, and opening letters, and particularly with an attempt to take out of the veffel, by violence, the very calf which we knew he had refufed to receive as a prefent, (a circumftance which we were fatisfied the Governor was well acquainted with) we had hence reafon to fuf- peCt, that he purpofely fought this quarrel, and had more impor- tant motives for engaging in it, than the mere captious biafs of his temper. What thefe motives were, it was not fo eafy for us to de- termine at that time 3 but as we afterwards found by letters, which fell into our hands in the South-Seas , that he had di {patched an ex- prefs to Buenos Ayres, where Pizarro then lay, with an account of our fquadron’s arrival at St. Catherine's, together with the moil ample and circumftantial intelligence of our force and condition,, we thence conjectured that Don Jofe had raifed this groundlefs-. clamour, only to prevent our vifiting the Brigantine when fhe rtiould put ( 56 ) ■put to fea again, leaft we might there find proofs of his perfidious behaviour, and perhaps at the fame time difcover the fecret of his Smuggling correfpondence with his neighbouring Governors, and the Spaniards at Buenos Ayres. But to proceed. It was near a month before the Tryal was refitted; for not only her lower mafis were defective, as hath been already mentioned, but her main top-maSt and fore-yard were likewife decayed and rot- ten. While this work was carrying on, the other Ships of the fqua- dron fixed new {landing rigging, and fet up a Sufficient number of preventer Shrouds to each mail, to Secure them in the moSt effectu- al manner. And in order to render the Ships Sliffer, and to enable them to carry more fail abroad, and to prevent their Straining their upper works in hard gales of wind, each Captain had orders given him to Strike down Some of their great guns into the hold. Thefe precautions being complied with, and each Ship having taken in as much wood and water as there was room for, the Tryal was at laSt compleated, and the whole Squadron was ready for the fea : On which the tents on Shore were Struck, and all the Sick were received on board. And here we had a melancholy proof how much the healthinefs of this place had been over-rated by former writers, for we found that though the Centurion alone had buried no lefs than twenty-eight men Since our arrival, yet the number of her Sick was in the fame interval increafed from eighty to ninety-fix. When our crews were embarked, and every thing was prepared for our depar- ture, the Commodore made a Signal for all Captains, and delivered them their orders, containing the fucceffive places of rendezvous from hence to the coaSt of China. And then, on the next day, being the 1 8th of January , the Signal was made for weighing, and the fquadron put to fea, leaving without regret this ISland of St. Cathe- rine's ; where we had been fo extremely difappointed in our refresh- ments, in our accommodations, and in the humane and friendly offices which we had been taught to expedt in a place, which hath been fo much celebrated for its hofpitality, freedom, and conveni- ency. i CHAP, ( 57 ) CHAP. VI. The run from St. Catherines to port St. Julian , with fome account of that port, and of the country to the fouthward of the river of Plate. I N leaving St. Catherine's , we left the laft amicable port we pro- pofed to touch at, and were now proceeding to an hoftile, or at beft, a defart and inhofpitable coaft. And as we were to expeCt a more boifterous climate to the fouthward than any we had yet experienced, not only our danger of feparation would by this means be much greater than it had been hitherto, but other ac- cidents of a more mifchievous nature were likewife to be apprehend- ed, and as much as poftible to be provided againft, Mr. Anfon , therefore in appointing the various ftations at which the fhips of the fquadron were to rendezvous, had confidered, that it was pof- fible his own ihip might be difabled from getting round Cape Horn , or might be loft, and had given proper directions, that even in that .cafe the expedition ftiould not be abandoned. For the orders delivered to the Captains, the day before we failed from St. Catherine's, were, that in cafe of feparation, which they were with the utmoft Care to endeavour to avoid, the firft place of rendezvous ftiould be the bay of port St. Julian ; defcribing the place from Sir John Narborough's account of it: There they were to fupply tftemfelves with as much fait as they could take in, both for their own ufe, and for the ufe of the fquadron ; and if, after a ftay of ten days, they were not joined by the Commodore, they were then to proceed through Str eights Le Maine round Cape Horn, into the South- Seas, where the next place of rendezvous was to be the Ifland of Nofir a Senora del Socoro , in the latitude of 45 0 South, and longitude from the Lizard 7 1 0 : 12 Weft. They were to bring I this ( 5 § ) this Ifland to bear E. N. E, and to cruize from five to twelve leagues diflance from it, as long as their flore of wood and water would permit, both which they were to expend with the utmofl frugality. And when they were under an abfolute neceflity of a frefh fupply, they were to hand in, and endeavour to find out an anchoring place ; and in cafe they could not, and the weather made it dange- rous to fupply their fhips by handing off and on, they were then to make the befl of their way to the Ifland of Juan Fernandes , in the latitude of 33° : 3 7' South. At this Ifland, as foon as they had recruited their wood and water,, they were to continue cruizing off the anchoring place for fifty-fix days j in which time, if they were not joined by the Commodore, they might conclude that fome accident had befallen him, and they were forthwith to put themfelves under the command of the fenior Officer, who was to ufe his utmofl endeavours to annoy the enemy both by fea and land. With thefe views their new Commodore was to conti- nue in thofe feas as long as his provifions laffed, or as long as they were recruited by what he fhould take from the enemy, referring only a fufficient quantity to carry him and the fhips under his com- mand to Macao , at the entrance of the river of Canton on the coafl of China> where having fupplied himfelf with a new flock of provifions, he was thence, without delay, to make the bell of his way to England. And as it was found impoflible as yet to un- load our Victualler the Anna Fink , the Commodore gave the Mafler of her the fame rendezvous, and the fame orders to put himfelf un- der the command of the remaining fenior Officer. Under thefe orders the fquadron failed from St. Catherine's on Sunday the 1 8 th of January , as hath been already mentioned in the preceding chapter. The next day we had very fqually wea- ther, attended with rain, lightning and thunder, but it foon became fair again with light breezes, and continued thus till Wednefday evening, when it blew frefh again ; and encreafing all night, by eight the next morning it became a mofl violent florm, and we had with it fo thick a fog, that it was impoflible to fee at the diflance 4 ( 59 ) of two mips length, fo that the whole fquadron difappeared. On this, a fignal was made, by firing guns, to bring to with the lar- board tacks, the wind being then due Eaft. We ourfelves imme- diately handed the top-fails, bunted the main-fail, and lay to un- der a reefed mizen till noon, when the fog difperfed, and we foon difcovered all the fhips of the fquadron, except the Pearly who did not join us till near a month afterwards. Indeed the Tryal Sloop was a great way to leeward, having loft her main-maft in the fiquall, and having been obliged, for fear of bilging, to cut away the raft. We therefore bore down with the fquadron to her relief, and the Gloucejler was ordered to take her in tow ; for the weather did not entirely abate till the day after, and even then, a great fwell con- tinued from the eaftward, in confequence of the preceding ftorm. After this accident we flood to the fouthward with little inter- ruption, and here we experienced the fame fetting of the current, which we had obferved before our arrival at St. Catherine's ■> that is,* we generally found ourfelves to the fouthward of our reckoning, by about twenty miles each day. This deviation, with a little in- equality, lafted till we had pafled the latitude of the river of Plate ; and even then, we difcovered that the fame current, however difficult to be accounted for, did yet undoubtedly take place ; for we were not fatisfied in deducing it from the error in our reckoning, but we actually tried it more than once, when a calm made it practicable. As foon as we had pafled the latitude of the river of Plate , we had foundings which continued all along the coaft of Patagonia. Thefe foundings, when well afcertained, being of great ufe in . determining the pofition of the fhi-p, and we having tried them more frequently, and in greater depths, and with more attention, than I believe hath been done before us ; I ftiail recite our obfer- vations as fuccin&ly as I can, referring to the chart hereafter in- ferred in the ninth chapter of this book, for a general view of the whole. In the latitude of 36° : 52', we had fixty fathom of water, with a bottom of fine black and grey land j from thence, to 39 0 : 55', we varied our depths from fifty to eighty fathom, though we had conftantly the fame bottom as before j between I 2 the ( Go ) the laft mentioned latitude, and 43 0 : i 6 \ we Had only fine grey fand, with the fame variation of depths, except that we onca or twice lefiened our water to forty fathom. After this, we con- tinued in forty fathom for about half a degree, having a bottom of coarfe fand and broken /hells, at which time we were in fight of land, and not above feven leagues fromut As we edged from the land we met with variety of foundings j firft black fand, then mud- dy, and foon after rough ground with- ftones but when we had encreafed our water to forty-eight fathom, we had a muddy bottom to the latitude of 46 3 : 10'. Hence drawing towards die fhore, we had firft thirty-fix fathom, and foil kept /healing our water, till at length we came into . twelve fathom,, having conftantly fmall ftones and; pebbles at the bottom.. Part of thi& time we. had a view of Cape Blanco , which lies in about the latitude of 47° : 10', and longitude Wefo horn.. London. 69°., This is the moft re- markable land upon. the coaft : Two very exa.:' v:r '• r. - _ •I'irA-c ■ ' • : , It ~ e? ■ - . r ' * V t ri . ^ :• - <. ’ ,>i .if: . 1 •;dr ; •, - . X 63 ) given them any relief, during the continuance of thofe impetuous ftorms. Whilft we flayed at this place, the Commodore appointed the Honourable Captain Murray to fucceed to the Pearl , and Captain Cheap to the Wager , and he promoted Mr. Charles Saunders , his firft Lieutenant, to the command of the Tryal Sloop. But Capt. Saunders lying dangeroufly ill of a fever on board the Centurion , and it being the opinion of the Surgeons, that the removing him on board his own (hip, in his prefent condition, might tend to the hazard of his life j Mr. Anfon gave an order to Mr. Saumarez , firft Lieutenant of the Centurion , to adt as Mafter and Commander of the jT yal, during the Illnefs of Captain Saunders. Here the Commodore too, in order to eafe the expedition of all unneceflary expence, held a farther confultation with his Cap- tains about unloading and difcharging the Anna Pink ; but they re- prefented to him, that they were fo far from being in a condition of taking any part of her loading on board, that they had ftill great quantities of provifions in the way of their guns between decks, and that their (hips were withal fo very deep, that they were not fit for adtion without being cleared. This put the Commodore under a neceflity of retaining the Pink in the fervice ; and as it was ap- prehended we fhould certainly meet with the Spanijh fquadron, in pafling the Cape, Mr. Anjon thought it advifeable to give orders to the Captains, to put all their provifions, which were in the way of their guns, on board the Anna Pink , and to remount fuch of their guns as had formerly, for the eafe of their fhips, been ordered into the hold. This bay of St. Julian , where we are now at anchor, being a convenient rendezvous, in cafe of feparation, for all cruifers bound to the fouthward, and the whole coaft of Patagonia , from the river of Plate to the Streights of Magellan , lying nearly parallel to their ufual route, a fhort account of the Angularity of this country, with a particular defcription of port St. Julian , may perhaps be neither unacceptably to the curious, nor unworthy the attention of future Navigators, 1 64 ) Navigators, as fome of them, by unforefeert accidents-, may b& obliged to run in with the land, and to make fome ftay on this coaft, in which cafe the knowledge of the country, its produce and inhabitants, cannot but be of the utmoft confequence to them. To begin then with the trad of country ufually ftiled Patagonia. This is the name often given to the fouthermoft part of South America , which is unpoffeffed by the Spaniards > extending from their fettlements to the Streights of Magellan * This country, on the eaft fide, is extremely remarkable, for a peculiarity not to be paralleled in any other known part of the globe ; for though the whole territory to the northward of the river of Plate is full of wood, and ftored with immenfe quantities of large timber trees, yet to the fouthward of the river no trees of any kind are to be met with, except a few peach-trees, firfl planted and cultivated by the Spaniards in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres : So that on the whole eaftern coaft of Patagonia , extending near four hundred leagues in length, and reaching as far back as any difcoveries have yet been made, no other wood has been found than a few infignifi- cant fhrubs. Sir John Narborough in particular, who was fent out, by King Charles the fecond, exprefly to examine this country, and the Streights of Magellan , and who, in purfuance of his orders, wintered upon this coaft in port St. "Julian and port Dejire, in the year 1670 ; Sir John Narborough , I fay, tells us, that he never faw a flick of wood in the country, large enough to make the handle of an hatchet. But though the country be fo deftitute of wood, it abounds with pafture. For the land appears in general to be made up ' of downs of a light dry gravelly foil, and produces great quanti- ties of long coarfe grafs, which grows in tufts interfperfed with large barren fpots of gravel between them. This grafs, in many places, feeds immenfe herds of cattle : For the Spaniards at Buenos Ayres , having, foon after their firft fettling there, brought over a few black cattle from Europe, they have thriven pro- digiouily by the plenty of herbage which they every where met with, and .are now encreafed to that degree, and are extended fo ( 6 S ) fo far into different parts of Patagonia that they are not confidered as private property ; but many thoufands at a time are Slaughtered every year by the Hunters, only for their hides and tallow. The manner of killing thefe cattle, being a pradice peculiar to that part of the world, merits a more circumffantial defcription. The Hun- ters employed on this occafion being all of them mounted on horfe- back, (and both the Spaniards and Indians in that part of the world are ufually moft excellent horfemen) they arm themfelves with a kind of a fpear, which, at its end, inftead of a blade fixed in the fame line with the wood in the ufual manner, has its blade fixed acrofs ; with this instrument they ride at a beaft, and Surround him ; when the Hunter that comes behind him hamStrings him : And as after this operation the beaSt foon tumbles, without being able to raife himfelf again, they leave him- on the ground, and purfue others, whom they ferve in the fame manner. Sometimes there is a fecond party, who attend the Hunters, to Skin the cattle as they fall : But it is faid, that at other times the Hunters chufe to let them languish in tor- ment till the next day, from an opinion that the anguiSh, which the animal in the mean time endures, may burSl the lymphaticks, and thereby facilitate the feparation of the Sir in from the carcafs : And though their Priefts have loudly condemned this moil barbarous practice, and have gone fo far, if my memory does not fail me, as to excommunicate thofe who follow it, yet all their efforts to put an entire Slop to it have hitherto proved ineffectual. Befides the numbers of cattle which are every year Slaughtered for their hides and tallow, in the manner already defcribed, it is often neceffary for the ufes of agriculture, and for other purpofes to take them alive, without wounding them : This is performed with a moil wonderful and almoil incredible dexterity, and prin- cipally by the ufe of a machine, which the Englifr. i, who have re- fided at Buenos Ayres , generally denominate a lafh. It is made of a thong of feveral fathoms in length, and very Strong, with a run- ning noofe at one end of it : This the Hunters (who in this cafe are alfo mounted on horfeback) take in their right hands, it bcinp- IC ° firSt f 66 ) fird properly coiled up, and having its efid opposite to> the nood fadened to the faddlej and thus prepared they ride at a herd' of cattle. When they arrive within a certain diftance of a bead:, they throw their thong at him with fuch exattnefs, that they ne- ver fail of fixing the noofe about his horns. The bead:, when he; finds himfelf entangled, generally runs, but the horfe, being fwifter, attends him, and prevents the thong from being too much drained, till a fecond Hunter, who follows the game, throws another noofe about one of its hind legs j and this being done, both horfes (for they are trained to this praCtife) indantly turn different ways, in or- der to drain the two thongs in contrary directions, on which the bead, by their oppofite pulls, is prefently overthr own, and then the horfes dop, keeping the thongs dill upon the dretch : Being thus on the ground, and incapable of refidance, (forfte is extended between the two horfes) the Hunters alight, and fecure him in fuch a man- ner, that they afterwards eafily convey him to whatever place they pleafe. They in like manner noofe horfes, and, as it is faid, even tygers ; and however drange this lad circumdance may ap- pear, there are not wanting perfons of credit who affert it. In- deed, it mud be owned, that the addrefs both of the Spaniards and Indians in that part of the world, in the ufe of this lafh or noofe,, and the certainty with which they throw it, and fix it on any in- tended part of the bead at a confiderable didance, are matters only to be believed, from the repeated and concurrent tedimony of all who have frequented that country, and might reafonably be quef- tioned, did it rely on a lingle report, or had it been ever contra- dicted or denied by any one who had refided at Buenos Ayres. The cattle which are killed in the manner I have already ob- served, are flaughtered only for their hides and tallow, to which Sometimes are added their tongues, but the red of their flefh is left to- putrify, or to be devoured by the birds and wild beads. The greated part of this carion falls to the fhare of the wild dogs, of which there are immenfe numbers to be found in that country. Thefe are fuppofed to have been originally produced by Spanish dogs ( 6 7 i dogs from Buenos Ayres y who, allured by the great quantity of ca- rion, and the facility they had by that means of fubfifting, left their Mailers, and ran wild amongft the cattle 3 for they are plainly of the breed of the European dogs, an animal not originally found in America. But though thefe dogs are faid to be fome thoufands in a company, they hitherto neither diminifh nor prevent the increafe of the cattle, not daring to attack the herds, by reafpn of the numbers which conftantly feed together 3 but contenting themfelves with the carion left them by the Hunters, and perhaps now and then with a few ftragglers, who, by accidents, are feparated from the main body they belong to. Befides the v/ild cattle which have fpread themfelves in fucli vaft herds from Buejios Ayres towards the fouthward, the fame country is in like manner furnifhed with horfes. Thefe too were firfl brought from Spain , and are alfo prodigioufly encreafed, and run wild to a much greater diftance than the black cattle : And though many of them are excellent, yet their number makes them of very little value 3 the bell of them being often fold, in the neigh- bouring fettlements, where money is plenty and commodities very dear, for not more than a dollar a-piece. It is not as yet certain how far to the fouthward thefe herds of wild cattle and horfes have extended themfelves 3 but there is fome reafon to conjedlure, that ftragglers of both kinds are to be met with very near the Streights of Magellan 3 and they will in time doubtlefs fill all the fouthern part of this Continent with their breed, which cannot fail of proving of confiderable advantage to fuch drips as may touch upon the coaft 3 for the horfes themfelves are faid to be very good eating, and as fuch, are preferred by fome of the Indiatis even before the black cattle. But whatever plenty of flefh pro- vifions may be hereafter found here, there is one material refrefh- ment which this eaftern fide of Patagonia feems to be very defec- tive in, and that is frefh water 3 for the land jbeing generally of a nitrous and faline nature, the ponds and ftreams are frequently brackifh. However, as good water has been found there, though^ K 2 in ( 68 ) in frnall quantities, it is not improbable, but on a further fearch, this inconvenience may be removed. To the account already given, I mull add, that there are in all parts of this country a good number of Vicunnas or Peruvian fheep ; but thefe, by reafon of their fhynefs and fwiftnefs, are killed with difficulty. On the eaflern coafl too, there are found immenfe quantities of feals, and a vafl variety of fea-fowl, amongfl which the mod; remarkable are the Penguins j they are in fize and fhape like a goofe, but inflead of wings they have ffiort flumps like fins, which are of no ufe to them, except in the water - y their bills are narrow, like that of an Albitrofs , and they fland and walk in an ' ereCt poflure. From this, and their white bellies, Sir John Nar- horough has whimfically likened them to little children flanding up in white aprons. The inhabitants of this eaflern coaft (to which I have all along hitherto confined my relation) appear to be but few, and have rarely been feen more than two or three at a time, by any fhips that have touched here. We, during our flay at the port of St. Julian , faw none. However, towards Buenos Ayres they are fufficiently numerous, and oftentimes very troublefome to the Spaniards • but there the greater breadth and variety of the country, and a milder climate, yield them a better protection ; for in that place the Conti- nent is between three and four hundred leagues in breadth, whereas at port St. Julian it is little more than a hundred : So that I conceive the fame Indians who frequent the weflern coafl of Patagonia and the Streights of Magellan , often ramble to this fide. As the Indians near Buenos Ayres exceed thefe fouthern Indians in number, fo they greatly furpafs them in activity and fpirit, and feem in their manners to be nearly allied to thofe gallant Chilian Indians , who have long fet the whole Spanijh power at defiance, have often ravaged their country, and remain to this hour inde- pendent. For the Indians about Buenos Ayres have learnt to be ex- cellent horfemen, and are extreamly expert in the management of all cutting weapons, though ignorant of the ufe of fire-arms, which the / ( ■■ ft:;. " V:. sin • 'fr t V: ; • ! S ' , .t y '- ' ' l ■Csf. t. : ’ * -* 4 ’ S V -5 -•nvA :• "■ " 3 :- 'J V nr , - : . ' . .. •’> !• . . - niuq ...: • ! rod • Hilt .•; n ... .! • ' ■ ; /. 1 ' • 37 i: j has ' '• V , u!i, n; /V, v.?r I ■ in i Jjlf j/s ;fjp - - h. >ro : - . i 1 . /- : • iljirh) 'i-yrO'U - ■ ■■ ■ • i h w) n-oih i »srta -ini virrh : . ' '* • ' ; V r.s.n 1 or!: : ? ovsrl ■ . ' ■ ?K • • - ■ • - , ■: : • ' i ’l % -f-jhdt ; j! d.f utf-'To odl oiatft . : ' - : L-. .h- . . ip"j oo if ■ -■ ' .. iffa . dtm zv-d . mnnwe) eht: t ■■ :l bh* ;x - ' • •' -t ; ' f o ••.;./ „h in iowin h -oh . n.;od ; <*• ' <:>' : ..it' ; r< ih ; ' • ■; ' rr.-d u msii T: ■] JK . . h / dr: : Sv"o:;-nO'> ' •• " 1 . ■■■;.:■'•■ : .A . „ • <;•; f ; JCKfirn ni ■ , • ir . .;ol • ..V.;:'.. . •; i r ? - r::-* . " . •" . ' . • ". : 3 \ ' J - o' ■ * •' r Explanation. E. The Opening of the River, where is ihoalc Water, the End of which is unknown F. Small Channel for Boars at Low Water. G. Where the Boats landed . Note, the Figures arc Depth of Water in Fathoms, the Soundings being' taken at 4 Ebb . 1 /ateVJ. Explanation Plan of A The Bar at the Entrance of the Harbour. ST.Tulians Harbour B- Bland of True Juflice . on die Coaft of Fata gonia C . Shag Illand . Laying in tlic Latf of 49:30.8? jJ-W* Longf ftonl London 70:44. D. Lake where we got our Salt. d.d.Othcr Small Salt Lakes . J 74 I-- V ' 1 \ V - I ( 69 ) the Spaniards are very folicitous to keep out of their hands. And of the vigour and refolution of thefe Indians, the behaviour of O- rellana and his followers, whom we have formerly mentioned, is a memorable in fiance. Indeed were we difpofed to aim at the utter fubverfion of the Spanijh power in America , no means feem more probable to effedt it, than due encouragement and afTiflance given to thefe Indians and thofe of Chili. Thus much may fuffice in relation to the eaflern coafl of Pata- gonia. The weflern coafl is of lefs extent ; and by reafon of the Andes which fkirt it, and flretch quite down to the water, is a very rocky and dangerous fhore. However, I fhall be hereafter neceffitated to make further mention of it, and therefore fhall not enlarge there- on at this time, but fhall conclude this account with a fhort defcrip- tion of the harbour of St. 'Julian , the general form of which may be conceived from the annexed fketch. But it mull be remembered, that the bar, which is there marked at the entrance, is often fhifting and has many holes in it. The tide flows here N. and S, and at full and change, rifes four fathom. We, on our firfl arrival here, fent an Officer on fhore to the falt- pond, marked (D) in the plan, in order to procure a quantity of fait for the ufe of the fquadron, Sir John Narborcugb having obferved, when he was here, that the fait produced in that place was verv white and good, and that in February there was enough of it to f 11 a thoufand fhips ; but our Officer returned with a fample which was very bad, and he told us, that even of this there was but little to be got ; I fuppofe the weather had been more rainy than ordinary, and had deflroyed it. To give the reader a better idea of this port, and of the adjacent country, to which the whole coafl I have defcribed bears a great refemblance, I have inferted two very accurate views, one of them reprefenting the appearance of the country, when look- ing up the the river j the other, being a view taken from the fame fpot, but the obferver is now fuppofed to turn round oppofite to his former fituation, and confequently this is a reprefentation of the ap- pearance of the country down the river, betwixt the fcation of the obferver, and the river’s mouth. C H A P> ( 7 ° ) CHAP. VH. Departure from the bay of St "Julian , and the paflage from thence to Streights Le Maire. , c ncn • ■ -* . ■ T H E Tryat being nearly refitted, which was our principal occupation at this bay of St. Julian , and the foie occafioo of our flay, the Commodore thought it neceffary, as we were now diredtly bound for the South -Seas and the enemy’s coafts, to fix the plan of his firft operations: And therefore, on the 24th of February , a fignal was made for all Captains, and a Coun- cil of war was held on board the Centurion , at which were pre- fent the Honourable Edward Legg, Captain Matthew Mitchell \ the Honourable George Murray , Captain David Cheap , together with Colonel Mordaunt Crackerode , Commander of the land-forces. At this Council Mr. Anfon propofed, that their firft attempt, after their arrival in the South-Seas , fhould be the attack of the town and harbour of Baldivia , the principal frontier of the diftrift of Chili ; Mr. Anfon informing them, at the fame time, that it was an arti- cle contained in his Majefty’s inftruftions to him, to endeavour to fecure fome port in the South- Seas, where the ftiips of the fqua- dron might be careened and refitted. To this propofition made by the Commodore, the Council unanimoufly and readily agreed $ and in confequence of this refolution, new inftrufitions were given to the Captains of the fquadron, by which, though they were ftill direct- ed, in cafe of feparation, to make the beft of their way to the Illand of Nueflra Senora del Socoro , yet (notwithstanding the orders they had formerly given them at St. Catherine's) they were to cruize off that Illand only ten days ; from whence, if not joined by the Commodore, they were to proceed, and cruize off the harbour of Baldivia, making the land between the latitudes of 40 p , and 40° : 30', and taking care to keep to tffie fouthward of the port 5 and, if in I 7*1 i fi fourteen days they were not joined by the reft of the fquadron, they were then to quit this ftation, and to difeCt their courfe to the Ifland of Jiian Fernandes , after which they were to regulate their further proceedings by their former orders. The fame directions Were alfo given to the Mailer of the Anna Pink , who was not to fail in anfwering "the flgnals made by any fhip of the fquadron,, and was to be very careful to deftroy his papers and orders, if he fhould be fo unfortunate, as to fall into the hands of the enemy. And as the feparation of the fquadron might prove of the utmoft prejudice to his Majefly’s fervice, each Captain was ordered to give it in charge to the refpeCtive Officers of the watch, not to keep their fhip at a greater diftance from the Centurion than two miles, as they would anfwer it at their peril ; and if any Captain fhould find his fhip beyond the, diftance fpecified, he was to ac- quaint the Commodore with the name of the Officer, who had' thus negledted his duty. Thefe neceftary regulations being eftablifhed, and the Tryal Sloop compleated, the fquadron weighed on Friday the 27 th of February ■, at feven in the morning, and flood to the fea ; the Gloucejler indeed found a difficulty in purchafing her anchor, and was left a confiderable way a-ftern, fo that in the night we fired feveral guns as a fignal to her Captain to make fail, but he did not come up to us till the next morning, when we found that they had been obliged to cut their cable, and leave their beft bower behind them. At ten in the morning, the day after our departure, Wood's Mount , the highland over St. Julian , bore from us N. by W. dis- tant ten leagues, and we had fifty-two fathom of water. And now {landing to the fouthward, we. had great expectation of falling in with Pizarro’s fquadron ; for, during our flay at port St. Julian , there had generally been hard gales between the W. N. W. and S. W, fo that we had reafon to conclude the Spaniards had gained no ground upon us in that interval.. Indeed it was the. profpeCl of meeting with them, that had occafioned our Commodore to be fo very folicitous to prevent the feparation of our fhips : For, had we 1 been ( 72 ) been folely intent upon getting round Cape Horn in the fhorteft time, the propereft method for this purpofe would have been, to have ordered each fhip to have made the beft of her way to the rendez- vous, without waiting for the reft. From our departure from St. Julian to the 4th of March , we had little wind, with thick hazy weather, and fome rain j and our foundings were generally from forty to fifty fathom, with a bottom of black and grey fand, fometimes intermixed with pebble ftones. On the 4 th of March we were in fight of Cape Virgin Mary , and not more than fix or feven leagues diftant from it : This Cape is the northern boundary of the entrance of the Streights of Magel- lan^ it lies in the latitude of 52 0 : 2 f South, and longitude from London y i° : 44' Weft, and feems to be a low fiat land, ending in a point. And for a direction to fuch fhips as may, by particular reafons, be induced hereafter to pafs through thofe Streights into the South-Seas , I have annexed a very accurate draught of its ap- pearance, where ( a ) reprefents the Cape itfelf. Off this Cape our depth of water was from thirty-five to forty-eight fathom. The afternoon of this day was very bright and clear, with fmall breezes of wind, inclinable to a calm, and moft of the Captains took the opportunity of this favourable weather to pay a vifit to the Com- modore ; but while they were in company together, they were all greatly alarmed by a Hidden flame, which burft out on board the Gloucejier , and which was fucceeded by a cloud of fmoak. How- ever, they were foon relieved from their apprehenfions, by receiv- ing information, that the blaft was occafioned by a fpark of fire from the forge, lighting on fome gunpowder and other combuf- tibles, which an Officer on board was preparing for ufe, in cafe we fhould fall in with the Spanijh fleet 5 and that it had been ex- tinguished, without any damage to the Hup. We here found what was conftantly verified by all our obfer- vations in thefe high latitudes, that fair weather was always of an exceeding Short duration, and that when it was remarkably fine, it was a certain prefage of a fucceeding ftorm, for the calm and 4 : * funfhine Cafio VIRGIN MARY at thw north entrance of MAGELLAN S STREIGHTS . ' . . ■ jig ----- I - ( ?- / isu VY/.,vf of Terra DEL FUEG-O w/V // r r>/‘.i// ;v///A) LE MAIRE . f^'T ( 73 ) funfhine of our afternoon ended in a moil turbulent night, the wind frefhning from the S. W. as the night came on, and en- creafing its violence continually till nine in the morning the next day, when it blew fo hard, that we were obliged to bring to witlt the fquadron, and to continue under a reefed mizen till eleven at night, having in that time from forty-three to fifty-feven fathom water, with black fand and gravel j and by an obfervation we had at noon, we concluded a current had fet us twelve miles to the fouthward of our reckoning. Towards midnight, the wind abating, we made fail again ; and fleering South, we difcovered in the morning for the firft time the land, called Terra del Fuego, flretch- ing from the S.byW, to the S. E. 4- E. This indeed afforded us but a very uncomfortable profpedt, it appearing of a flupendous height, covered every where with fhow. And though the dreari- nefs of this fcene can be but im perfectly reprefented by any Draw- ing, yet the annexed plate contains fo exadl a delineation of the form of the country, that it may greatly afiifl the reader in fram- ing fome idea of this uncouth and rugged coafl. In this Drawing (a) is the opening of Streights Le Maire , (b) Cape St. Diego , (i) (2) (3) the three hills, called the three brothers, and (4) Monte - gorda , an highland which lies up in the country, and appears over the three brothers. We fleered along this fhore all day, having foundings from forty to fifty fathom, with flones and gravel. And as we intended to pafs through Streights Le Maire next day, we lay to at night, that we might not overfhoot them, and took this opportunity to prepare ourfelves for the tempefluous climate we were foon to be engaged inj with which view, we employed ourfelves good part of the night in bending an entire new fuit of fails to the yards. At four the next morning, being the 7th of March , we made fail, and at eight faw the land j and foon after we began to open the Streights, at which time Cape St. James bore fiom us E. S. E, Cape St .Vincent S. E. i E, the middlemoft of the three brothers S. and by W, Montegcrda South, and Cape St. Bartholomew , which is the fouthermofl point of Staten-land, E.S.E. L The ( 74 ) The appearance of the Streights in this Situation, is reprefented in the annexed plate, where (a) is part of Staten-land , (b) Cape St. Bartholomew , (c) part of Terra del Fuego, (d) port Maurice r and (e) fuppofed to be Valentine’s bay, or the bay of good fuccefs. And here I muft obferve, that though Frezier has given us a very correct profpe hah . • ' . . - ; t $Tjd TV ' ; •*/ ■' : r >h v. v/ jidsiab — ■■■ -iJ: iiiq ol d ' itl ; - «... ip * - : ' . >///.! Lfe Mai re A , v/ Terra dee Fuego a /*,/ Staten Land ■ -V, • fit _ \ l s •' -• . ■ ■ 5 ; - - - • : . ■ - ' , i 1 C 75 ) narrow clefts,, which appear as if the country had been frequently rent by earthquakes ; for thefe chafms are nearly perpendicular, , and extend through the fuhftance of the main rocks, almoft to theirr very bottoms : So that nothing can be imagined more favage and ' gloomy, than the whole afped: of this coaft. But to proceed : I have above mentioned, that on the 7th of March , in the morning, we opened Sreights Le Maire , and foon after, or about ten o’clock, the Pearl and the T rypl being ordered to keep a-head of the fqtiadron, we entered them with- fair weather and a brilk gale, and were hurried through by. the rapidity of the tide in about' two hours, though they are between feven and eight leagues im length,. As thefe Streights are often efteemed to be the boundary between the Atlantick and Pacifick Oceans, and . as we prefumed we had. no thing before us from hence, but an open fea, till .we arrived on thole opulent coafls where all our hopes and wilhes centered,, we could not help perfwading.ourfelves, that the greateft difficulty of our voyage was now at an end, and that our mod: fanguine dreams were upon the point of being realifed ; and hence we indulged our imaginations in thofe romantick fchemes which the fancied poffeffion of the Chilian gold and Peruvian diver, might be conceived to infpire, Thefe joyous ideas were con— liderably heightened by the brightnefs of the Iky and ferenity of the weather,,, which was indeed moft remarkably pleafmg - T for though the winter, was now advancing apace, yet the morning of this day, . in its brilliancy and mildnefs,.. gave place to none we had 1 , feen fince our departure from England. Thus animated by thefe flattering delufions, we palfed thofe memorable Streights, ignorant of the dreadful calamities which were then impending, and juft ready to break upon us ; ignorant that the time drew near, when the fquadron would be feparated never to unite again, and that this day of our paffage was the laft chearful day that the greatest, part of us would ever live to enjoy, C II A P. % L z ( 76 ) CHAP. VIII. From Streights Le Maire to Cape Noir. W E had fcarcely reached the fouthern extremity of the' Streights of Le Maire , when our flattering hopes were inftantly loft in the apprehenfions of immediate de- ftriuftion : For before the fternmoft fhips of the fquadron were clear of the Streights, the ferenity of the iky was fuddenly ob- fcured, and we obferved all the prefages of an impending ftorm ; and prefently the wind fhifted to the fouthward, and blew in fuch violent fqualls, that we were obliged to hand our top-fails, and reef our main-fail .; whilft the tide too, which had hitherto favoured us, at once turned furioufly againft us, and drove us to the eaftward with prodigious rapidity, fo that we were in great anxiety for the Wager and the Anna Pi?ik i the two fternmoft vef- fels, fearing they would be dafhed to pieces againft the fhore of Staten-land : Nor were our apprehenlions without foundation, for it was with the utmoft difficulty they efcaped. And now the whole fquadron, inftead of purfuing their intended courfe to the S. W, were driven to the eaftward by the united force of the ftorm, and of the currents ; fo that next day in the morning we found our- Xelves near feven leagues to the eaftward of Streights Le Maire , which then bore from us N. W. The violence of the current, which had fet'Us with fo much precipitation to the eaftward, toge- ther with the fierceneft and conftancy of the wefterly winds, foon taught us to confider the doubling of Cape Horn as an enterprize, that might prove too mighty for our efforts, though fome amongft as had lately treated the difficulties which former voyagers were faid to have met with in this undertaking, as little better than chimeri- cal, and had fuppofed them to arife rather from timidity and un- Ikilfulnefsj than from the jeal embarcafments of the winds and feas : ( 77 ) feas : but we were now feverely convinced, that thefe cenfures were rath and ill-grounded : For the diftreffes with which we ftruggled, during the three fucceeding months, will not eafily be paralleled in the relation of any former naval expedition. This will, I doubt not, be readily allowed by thofe who fhall carefully perufe the enfuing narration. From the ftorm which came on before we had well got clear of Streights Le Maire y we had a continual fuccefhon of fuch tempef- tuous weather, as furprized the oldefl and mod: experienced Ma- riners on board, and obliged them to confefs, that what they had hitherto called ftorms were inconfiderable gales, compared with the violence of thefe winds, which raifed fuch fhort, and at the fame time fuch mountainous waves, as greatly furpaffed in danger all feas known in any other part of the globe : And it was not without great reafon, that this unufual appearance filled us with continual terror 3 for, had any one of thefe waves broke fairly over us, it mud:, in all probability, have fent us to the bottom. Nor did we efcape with terror only 3 for the fhip rolling inceffantly gunwale to, gave us fuch quick and violent motions, that the men were in perpetual danger of being dafhed to pieces againft the decks, or fides of the fhip. And though we were extremely careful to fecure our- felves from thefe fliocks, by grafping fome fixed body, yet many of our people were forced from their hold ; fome of whom were killed, and others greatly injured 3 in particular, one of our beft fea- men was canted over-board and drowned, another didocaled his neck, a third was thrown into the main-hold and broke his thigh, and one of our Boatfwain’s Mates broke his collar-bone twice 3 not to mention many other accidents of the fame kind. Thefe tem- pers, fo dreadful in themfelves, though unattended by any other unfavourable circumftance, were yet rendered more mifchievous to us by their inequality, and the deceitful intervals which they at fome-times afforded 3 for though we were oftentimes obliged to lie to for days together under a reefed mizen, and were frequently re- duced to lie at the mercy of the waves under our bare poles, yet now ( 7§ ) now and then we ventured to make fail With our courfes double reefed j and the weather proving more tolerable, would perhaps encourage us to fet our top-fails after which, the wind, without any previous notice, would return upon us with redoubled force* and would in an inflant tear our fails from the yards. And that no circumftance might be wanting which could aggrandize our diftrefs, thefe blafts generally brought with them a great quantity of fnow and fleet, which cafed our rigging, and froze our fails, thereby rendring them and our cordage brittle, and apt to fnap upon the flighted: ftrain, adding great difficulty and labour to the working of the fhip, benumbing the limbs of our people, and making them incapable of exerting themfelves with their ufual activity, and even difabling many of them, by mortifying their toes and fingers. It were indeed endlefs to enumerate the various difafters of different kinds which befel us ; and I fhall only mention the mod: material, which will fufficiently evince the calamitous condition of the whole fquadron, during the courfe of this navigation. It was on the 7th of March , as hath been already obferved, that we paffed Streights Le Maire , and were immediately afterwards driven to the eaftward by a violent ftorm, and the force of the cur- rent which fet that way. For the four or five fucceeding days we had hard gales of wind from the fame quarter, with a mod: prodi- gious fwell ; fo that though we flood, during all that time, towards the S. W, yet we had no reafon to imagine, we had made any way to the weftward. In this interval we had frequent fqualls of rain and fnow, and fhipped great quantities of water 5 after which, for three or four days, though the feas ran mountains high, yet the weather was rather more moderate : But, on the 18th, we had again ftrong gales of wind with extreme cold, and at midnight the main top-fail fplit, and one of the ftraps of the main dead eyes broke. From hence, to the 23 d, the weather was more favourable, though often intermixed with rain and fleet, and fome hard gales ; but as the waves did not fiibfide, the fhip, by labouring in this lofty fiea, was now grown fo loofe in her upper works, that fhe let in the water ( 79 ) water at every Team, fo that every part within board was conftantly expofed to the fea- water, and fcarcely any of the Officers ever lay in dry beds. Indeed it was very rare, that two nights ever paffed without many of them being driven from their beds, by the deluge of water that came in upon them. On the 23d, we had a moft violent ftorm of wind, hail, and rain, with a very great fea ; and though we handed the main top- fail before the height of the fquall, yet we found the yard fprung ; and foon after the foot-rope of the main-fail breaking, the main- fail itfelf fplit inftantly to rags, and, in fpite of our endeavours to fave it, much the greater part of it was blown over-board. On this, the Commodore made the fignal for the fquadron to bring to and the ftorm at length flattening to a calm, we had an opportunity of getting down our main top-fail yard to put the Carpenters to work upon it, and of repairing our rigging j after which, having bent a new mainfail, we got under fail again with a moderate breeze; but in lefs than twenty-four hours we were attacked by another ftorm ftill more furious than the former ; for it proved a perfe6t hurricane, and reduced us to the neceffity of lying to under our bare poles. As our fhip kept the wind better than any of the reft, we were obliged, in the afternoon, to wear fhip, in order to join the fquadron to the leeward, which otherwife we fhould have been in danger of lofing in the night : And as we dared not venture any fail abroad, we were obliged to make ufe of an expedient, which anfwered our purpofe ; this was putting the helm a weather, and manning the fore-fhrouds : But though this method proved fuc- cefsful for the end intended, yet in the execution of it, one of our ableft feaman was canted over-board ; we perceived that notwith- ftanding the prodigious agitation of the waves, he fwam very ftrong, and it was with the utmoft concern that we found ourfelves incapable of aflifting him ; indeed we were the more grieved at his unhappy fate, as we loft light of him ftruggling with the waves, and conceived from the manner in which he fwam, that he might continue - 4 (So ) continue fenfible for a confiderable time longer, of the horror at- tending his irretrievable lituation. Before this laft mentioned ftorm was quite abated, we found two of our main-£hrouds and one mizen-fhroud broke, all which we knotted, and fet up immediately. From hence we had an inter- val of three or four days lefs tempeftuous than ufual, but accom- panied with a thick fog, in which we were obliged to lire guns almoft every half hour, to keep our fquadron together. On the 3 i ft, we were alarmed by a gun fired from the Gloucejier , and a fignal made by her to fpeak with the Commodore ; we imme- diately bore down to her, and were prepared to hear of fome terri- ble difafter; but we were apprized of it before we joined her, for we faw that her main-yard was broke in the flings. This was a grie- vous misfortune to us all at this juncture ^ as it was obvious it would prove an hindrance to our failing, and would detain us the longer in thefe inhofpitable latitudes. But our future fuccefs and fafety was not to be promoted by repining, but by refolution and activity j and therefore, that this unhappy incident might delay us as little as poflible, the Commodore ordered feveral Carpenters to be put on board the Gloucejier from the other fhips of the fquadron, in order to repair her damage with the utmoft expedition. And the Cap- tain of the Tryal complaining at the fame time, that his pumps were fo bad, and the floop made fo great a quantity of water, that he was fcarcely able to keep her free, the Commodore ordered him .a pump ready fitted from his own fliip. It was very fortunate for the Gloucejier and the Trytf/, that the weather proved more favour- able this day than for many days, both before and after ; fince by this means they were enabled to receive the afliftance which feemed eflential to their preservation, and which they could fcarcely have had at any other time, as it would have been extremely hazardous to have ventured a boat on board. The next day, that is, on the ift of April, the weather return- ed, again to its cuftomary bias, the Iky looked dark and gloomy, and Ic ( 8i ) and the wind began to frefhen and to blow in fquall's; however, it was not yet fo boifterous, as to prevent our carrying our top-fails clofe reefed; but its appearance was fuch, as plainly prognofticated that a ftill feverer tempeft was at hand : And accordingly, on the 3d of April , there came on a ftorm, which both in its violence and continuation (for it lafted three days) exceeded all that we had hi- therto encountered. In its firft onfet we received a furious fhock from a fea which broke upon our larboard quarter, where it hove in the quarter gallery, and rufhed into the fhip like a deluge; our rig- ging too fuffered extremely from the blow ; amongft the reft one of the ftraps of the main dead-eyes was broke, as was aifo a main-fhroud and puttock-fhroud, fo that to eafe the ftrefs upon the mails and fhrouds, we lowered both our main and fore-yards, and furled all our fails, and in this pofture we lay to for three days, when the ftorm fomewhat abating, we ventured to make fail under our courfes only; but even this we could not do long, for, the next day, which was the 7th, we had another hard gale of wind, with lightning and rain, which obliged us to lie to again till night. It was wonderful, that notwithftanding the hard weather we had endured, no extraordi- nary accident had happened to any of the fquadron fince the break- ing of the Glcucefter ' s main-yard; But this good fortune now no long- er attended us ; for at three the next morning, feveral guns were fired to leeward as fignals of diftrefs: And the Commodore making a fignal for the fquadron to bring to, we, at day-break, faw the Wager a con- fiderable way to leeward of any of the other fhips ; and we foon per- ceived that the had loft her mizen-maft, and main top-fail yard We immediately bore down to her, and found this difafter had arifen from the badnefs of her iron work ; for all the chain-plates to windward had given way, upon the fhip’s fetching a deep roll. This proved the more unfortunate to the Wager , as her Carpenter had been on board the Gloucefter ever fince the 31ft of March and the weather was now too fevere to permit him to return; Nor was the Wager the only fhip of the fquadron that fuffered in this tempeft ; for, the next day, a fignal of diftrefs was made M by ( 82 ) by the Anna Pink , and, upon fpeaking with the Maher, we learnt that they had broke their fore-hay and the gammon of the bow- fprit, and were in no fmall danger of having all their mahs come by the board} fo that we were obliged to bear away until they had made all fah, after which we haled upon a wind again.. And now, after all our folicitude, and the numerous ills of every kind, to which we had been inceflantly expofed for near forty days, we had great confolation in the flattering hopes we entertained,, that our fatigues were drawing to a period, and that we fhould foon arrive in a more hofpitable climate, where we fhould be amply re- payed for all our pah bufferings. For, towards the latter end of March , we were advanced, by our reckoning, near io° to the wehward of the wehermoh point of Perra del Fuego , and this al- lowance being double what former Navigators have thought ne- ceflary to be taken, in order to compenfate the drift of the wehern current, we eheemed ourfelves to be well advanced within the limits of the fouthern Ocean, and had therefore been ever fince handing to the northward with as much expedition, as the turbu- lence of the weather, and our frequent difahers permitted. And, on the 13 th of April, we were but a degree in latitude to the Southward of the Weh entrance of the Streights of Magellan } fo that we fully expected, in a very few days, to have experienced the celebrated tranquility of the Pacijick Ocean. But thefe were delufions which only ferved to render our dis- appointment more terrible} for the next morning, between one and two, as we were handing to the northward, and the weather, which had till then been hazy, accidentally cleared up, the Pink made a fignal for feeing land right a-head ; and it being but two miles dihant, we were all under the moh dreadful apprehenfions of running on fhore ; which, had either the wind blown from its ufual quarter with its wonted vigour, or had not the moon Sud- denly fhone out, not a fhip amongh us could poffibly have avoided: But the wind, which fome few hours before blew in fqualls from the S.W, having fortunately flaifted to W.N.W, we were enabled ( «3 ) to ftand to the fouthward, and to clear ourfelves of this unex- pected danger j and were fortunate enough by noon to have gained an offing of near twenty leagues. By the latitude of this land we fell in with, it was agreed to be a part of Terra del Fuego , near the fouthern outlet defcribed in Frezier’s Chart of the Streights of Magellan , and was fuppofed to be that point called by him Cape Noir. It was indeed mod won- derful, that the currents ffiould have driven us to the eadward with fuch drength ; for the whole fquadron edeemed themfelves up- wards of ten degrees more wederly than this land, fo that in running down, by our account, about nineteen degrees of longitude, we had not really advanced half that didance. And now, in- dead of having our labours and anxieties relieved by approaching a warmer climate and more tranquil feas, we were to deer again to the fouthward, and were again to combat thofe wedern blads, which had fo often terrified usj and this too, when we were greatly enfeebled by our men falling fick, and dying apace, and when our fpirits, dejedted by a long continuance at fea, and by our late difap- pointment, were much lefs capable of fupporting us in the various difficulties, which we could not but expedt in this new undertaking. Add to all this too, the difcouragement we received by the diminu- tion of the drength of the fquadron; for three days before this, we lod fight of the Severn and the Pearl in the morning ; and though we fpread our ffiips, and beat about for them fome time, yet we ne- ver faw them more j whence we had apprehenfions that they too might have fallen in with this land in the night, and by being lefs favoured by the wind and the moon than we were, might have run on fhore and have perifhed. Full of thefe defponding thoughts and gloomy prefages, we dood away to the S. W, prepared by our late difader to fufpedt, that how large foever an allowance we made in our weding for the drift of the wedern current, we might dill, upon a fecond trial, perhaps find it infufficient, M 2 CHAP. ( «4 ) CHAP. IX. Obfervations and directions for facilitating the paflage of our future Cruifers round Cape Horn . /T^HE improper feafon of the year in which we attempted to double Cape Horn , and to which is to be imputed the dis- appointment (recited in the foregoing chapter) of falling in with Terra del Fuego, when we reckoned ourfelves above a hun- dred leagues to the weStward of that whole coafl, and conlequent- ly well advanced into the Pacijick Ocean j this unfeafonable naviga- tion, I fay, to which we were neceffitated by our too late departure from England , was the fatal Source of all the misfortunes we after- wards encountered. For from hence proceeded the Separation of our Ships, the deStruCtion of our people, the ruin of our project on Baldwin, and of all our other views on the Spanijh places, and the reduction of our Squadron from the formidable condition in which it palled Streights Le Maire, to a couple of Shattered half manned cruifers and a lloop, So. far difabled, that in many climates they Scarcely durSt have put to lea. To prevent therefore, as much as in me lies, all Ships hereafter bound to the Scuth-Seas from Suffer- ing the fame calamities, I think it my duty to infert in this place fuch directions and obfervations, as either my own experience and re- flection, or the conversation of the moft fkiiful Navigators on board the Squadron could fumifh me with, in relation to the molt eligible manner of doubling Cape Horn , whether in regard to the feafon of the year, the courfe proper to be fteered, or the places of refresh- ment both on the Eaft and Weft-fide of South America. And firfi with regard to the proper place for refreshment on the Eaft-fide of South America. For this purpofe the Illand of St. Ca- therine s has been ufually recommended by former writers, and on a their ( 8S ) their faith we put in there, as has been formerly mentioned : But the treatment we met with, and the fmall ftore of refrefhments we could procure there, are fufficient reafons to render all fhips for the future cautious, how they truft themfelves in the government of Don Jofe Silva de Paz j for they may certainly depend on having their ftrength, condition and defigns betrayed to the Spaniards , as far as the knowledge, the Governor can procure of thefe particulars, will give him leave. And as this treacherous conduct is infpired by the views of private gain, in the illicit commerce carried on to the river of Plate , rather than by any national affeCtion which the Portugaefe bear the Spaniards , the fame perfidy may perhaps be ex- pected from moft of the Governors of the Brazil coaft fince thele finuggling engagements are doubtlefs very extenfive and general. And though the Governors fhould themfelves deteft fo faithlefs a procedure, yet as fliips are perpetually palling from feme or other of the Brazil ports to the river of Plate , the Spaniards could fcarcely fail of receiving, by this means, cafual intelligence of any Britijh fliips upon the coaft ; which, however imperfect fuch in- telligence might be, would prove of dangerous import to the views and interefts of thofe cruifers who were thus difeovered. For the Spanijh trade in the South-Seas running all in one track from North to South, with very little deviation to the eaftward or weftward, it is in the power of two or three cruifers, properly ftationed in different parts of this track, to polfefs themfelves of every fhip that puts to fea : But this is only fe> long as they can continue concealed from the neighbouring coaft ; for the inftant an enemy is known to be in thofe feas, all navigation is prohibited, and confequently all captures are at an end ; fince the Spaniards , well apprized of thefe advantages- of the enemy, fend exprefies along the coaft, and lay a general embargo on all their trade • a meafure, which they prudentially forefee, will not only prevent their veffels being taken, but will foon lay any cruifers, who have notftrength fufficient to attempt their places, under a necefiity of re turning- home.. Hence then appears the great importance of concealing a ll expeditions ( 86 ) expeditions of this kind ; and hence too it follows, how extremely prejudicial that intelligence may prove, which is given by the Por- tuguefc Governors to the Spaniards , in relation to the defigns of fhips touching at the ports of Brazil. However, notwithflanding the inconveniencies we have mention- ed of touching on the coafl of Brazil , it will oftentimes happen, that fhips bound round Cape Horn will be obliged to call there for a fupply of wood and water, and other refrefhments. In this cafe St. Catherine's is the laft place I would recommend, both as the proper animals for a live flock at fea, as hogs, fheep and fowls can- not be procured there, (for want of which we found ourfelves great- ly diflreffed, by being reduced to live almofl entirely on fait provi- fions) and alfo becaufe from its being nearer the river of Plate than many of their other fettlements, the inducements and conveniencies of betraying us are much flronger. The place I would recom- mend is Rio Janeiro, where two of our fquadron put in after they were feparated from us in paffing Cape Horn ; for here, as I have been informed by one of the Gentlemen on board thofe fhips, any quantity of hogs and poultry may be procured, and this place be- ing more diflant from the river of Plate , the difficulty of intelli- gence is fomewhat inhanced, and confequently the chance of con- tinuing there undifcovered, in fome degree augmented. Other meafures, which may effectually obviate all thefe embarraffments, fhall be confidered more at large hereafter. I next proceed to the confideration of the proper courfe to be fleered for doubling Cape Horn. And here, I think, I am fufficiently authorized by our own fatal experience, and by a careful comparifon and examination of the journals of former Navigators, to give this piece of advice, which in prudence I think ought never to be de- parted from : That is, that all fhips bound to the South-Seas , in- flead of paffing through Streights Le Maire , fhould conflantly pafs to the eaflward of Staten-land , and fhould be invariably bent on running to the fouthward, as far as the latitude of 6 1 or 62 degrees, before they endeavour to Hand to the weflward ; and that when they are ( 8 7 ) are got into that latitude, they fhould then make fore of fufficient welling, before they once think of fleering to the northward. But as directions diametrically oppofite to thefe have been for- merly given by other writers, it is incumbent on me to produce my reafons for each part of this maxim. And firft, as to the paffing to the eaflward of Staten-land, Tliofe who have attended to the rifque we ran in paffing Streights Le Maire , the danger we were in of be- ing driven upon Staten-land by the current, when, though we happily efcaped being put on fhore, we were yet carried to the eaflward of that Ifland : Thofe who refled: on this, and on the like accidents which have happened to other fliips, will furely not efleem it prudent to pafs through Streights Le Maire , and run the rifque of fhipwreck, and after all find themfelves no farther to the wefl- ward (the only reafon hitherto given for this pradice) than they might have been in the fame time, by a fecure navigation in an open fea. And next, as to the diredions I have given for running into the latitude of 61 01-62 South, before any endeavour is made to Hand to the weflward : T he reafons for this precept are, that in all pro- bability the violence of the currents will be hereby avoided, and the weather will prove lefs tempefluous and uncertain. This lafl cir- cumflance we ourfelves experienced moft remarkably j for after we had unexpededly fallen in with the land, as has been mentioned in the preceding chapter, we flood away to the fouthward to run clear of it, and were no fooner advanced into fixty degrees or upwards, but we met with much better weather, and fmoother water than in any other part of the whole paffage : The air indeed was very cold and fharp, and we had flrong gales, but they were fleady and uniform, and we had at the fame time funfhine and a clear fky j whereas in the lower latitudes, the winds every now and then in- termitted, as it were, to recover new flrength, and then returned fuddenly in the moll violent gufls, threatening at each blafl the lofs of our mails, which mull have ended in our certain definition. And that the currents in this high latitude would be of much lefs 1 efficacy f 88 ) efficacy than nearer the land, Teems to be evinced from thefe con- fiderations, that all currents run with greater violence near the fhore •than at Tea, and that at great distances from fhore they are fcarcely perceptible : Indeed the reafon of this Teems Efficiently obvious, if we confider, that conftant currents are, in all probability, produced by conftant winds, the wind driving before it, though with a flow and imperceptible motion, a large body of water, which being ac- cumulated upon any coaft that it meets with, muft efcapc along the fhore by the endeavours of its furface, to reduce itfelf to the fame level with the reft of the Ocean. And it is reafonable to fuppefe, that thofe violent gufts of wind which we experienced near the fhore, To very different from what we found in the lati- tude of fixty degrees and upwards, may be owing to a fimilar caufe ; for a wefterly wind almoft perpetually prevails in the fouthern part of the Pacifick Ocean : And this current of air be- ing interrupted by thofe immenfe hills called the Andes , and by the mountains on ‘ Terra del Fuego , which together bar up the whole country to the fouthward as far as Cape Horn , a part of it only can force its way over the tops of thofe prodigious precipices, whilft the reft muft naturally follow the direblion of the coaft, and muft range down the land to the fouthward, and fweep with an impetuous and irregular blaft round Cape Horn i and the fouthermoft part of T erra del Fuego. However, not to rely on thefe fpeculations, we may, I believe, eftablifh, as inconteftible, thefe matters of fadf, that both the rapidity of the currents, and the violence of the weftern gales, are lefs fenfible in the latitude of 6 1 or 62 degrees, than nearer the fhore of Terra del Fuego. . ■ But though I am fatisfied both from our own experience, and the relations of other Navigators, of the importance of the precept I here infift on, that of running into the latitude of 61 or 62 degrees, before any endeavours are made to ftand to the weftward yet I would advife no fhips hereafter to truft fo far to this management, as to negledt another moft eflential maxim, which is the making this paflage in the height of fummer, that is, in the months of December and ( «9 ) and 'January j and the more diftant the time of palling is taken from this feafon, the moredifaftrous it may be reafonably expected to prove. Indeed, if the mere violence of the weftern winds be confidered, the time of our palfage, which was about the Equinox, was per- haps the moll unfavourable of the whole year; but then it muft be remembred, that independent of the winds there are in the depth of winter many other inconveniencies to be apprehended, which are almoft infuperable : For the feverity of the cold, and the fhort- nefs of the days, would render it impracticable at that feafon to run fo far to the fouthward as is here recommended 5 and the fame reafons would greatly augment the alarms of failing in the neigh- bourhood of an unknown fhore, dreadful in its appearance in the midft of fummer, and would make a winter navigation on this coaft to be, of all others, the mod; difmaying and terrible. As I would therefore advife all lliips to make their palfage in December and January, if polfible; fo I would warn them never to attempt the doubling Cape Horn , from the eaftward, after the month of March. And now as to the remaining condderation, that is, the propereft port for cruifers to refrelh at on their firft arrival in the South- Seas : On this head there is fcarcely any choice, the Illand of Juan Fer- nandes being the only place that can be prudently recommended for this purpofe. For though there are many ports on the weftern ftde of Patagonia , between the Streights of Magellan and the Spanij h fettlements (a plan of one of which I lhall infert in the courfe of this work) where fhips might ride in great fafety, might recruit their wood and water, and might procure fome few refrelhments ; yet that coaft is in itfelf fo dangerous from its numerous rocks and breakers, and from the violence of the weftern winds, which blow conftantly full upon it, that it is by no means advifeable to fall in with that land, at lead: till the roads, channels and anchorage in each part of it are accurately furveyed, and both the perils and fhelter it abounds with are more diftinCtlv known. * N Thus ( 9 ° ) Thus having given the beft directions in my power for the fuccefs of our cruifers, who may be hereafter bound to the South- Seas 5 it u3 ^rl ,t . ;ui . r b; . • . ) ■...,■ : \ : 8L d: -A is^iol ?^b, Wdl £ £$tmbil0$ 5W % : .udihmihb too ibs^i<| Ijli ‘ ... 1 J. 0 .-/' O -■•'.■■■■ii sJtOW&fc'U-Jl* J ziv. ( 109 ) A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, &c. BOOK II. CHAP. I. The arrival of the Centurion at the Ifland of Juan Fernandesy with a defcription of that Ifland. O N the 9 th of June, at day break, as is mentioned in the preceding chapter, we firft defcried the Ifland of Juan Fernandes , bearing N. by E. 4- E, at eleven or twelve leagues diftance. And tho’, on this firft view, it appear- ed to be a very mountainous place, extremely ragged and irregular ; yet as it was land, and the land we fought for, it was to us a mod agreeable fight : Becaufe at this place only we could hope to put a period to thofe terrible calamities we had fo long ftruggled with, which had already fwept away above half our crew, and which, had we continued a few days longer at fea, would inevitably have corn- pleated our deftrudtion. For we were by this time reduced to fo helplefs a condition, that out of two hundred and odd men which remained ( r f6 ) remained alive, we could not, taking all our watches together, mufter hands enough to work the fhip on an emergency, though, we included the officers* their fervants, and the boys. The wind being northerly when we firft made the Illand, we kept plying all that day, and the next night, in order to get in with the land ; and wearing the ffiip in the middle watch, we had a melancholy indance of the almod incredible debility of our people ; for the Lieutenant could muder no more than two Quarter-mailers, and fix Fore-mall men capable of working j fo that without the affillance of the officers, fervants and the boys* it might have proved impoffible for us to have reached the Illand, after we had got light of it ; and even with this affillance they were two hours in trimming the fails : To lo wretched a condition was a lixty gun fhip reduced, which had palfed Streights Le Maire but three months before, with between four and live hundred men, almod all of them in health and vigour. However, on the ioth in the afternoon, we got under the lee of the Illand, and kept ranging along it, at about two miles didance, in order to look out for the proper anchorage, which was defcribed to be in a bay on the North, fide. Being now nearer in with the Ihore, we could difcover that the broken craggy precipices, which had appeared fo unpromiling at a dillance,, were far from barren, being in moll places covered with woods ; and that between them there were every where interlperled the fined vallies, clothed with a mod beautiful verdure, and watered with numerous dreams arid cafcades, no valley, of any extent, being unprovided of its proper rill. The water too, as we afterwards found, was not inferior to any we had ever taded, and was condantly clear. The afpett of this country, thus diverlified, would, at all times, have been extreme- ly delightful ; but in our didrelfed lituation, languilhing as we were for the land and its vegetable productions, (an inclination condantly attending every dage of the fea-fcurvy) it is fcarcely credible with what eagernefs and tranfport we viewed the Ihore, and with how much impatience we longed for the greens and other refrefhments which ( 111 ) which were then in fight, and particularly the water, for of this we had been confined to a very fparing allowance a confiderable time, and had then but five ton remaining on board,. Thofe only who have endured a long feries of third:, and who can readily re- cal the defire and agitation which the ideas alone of fprings and 'brooks have at that time raifed in them, can judge of the emotion with which we eyed a large cafcade of the mod: tranfparent water, which poured itfelf from a rock near a hundred feet high into the fea, at a fmall didance from the fhip. Even thofe amongd the difeafed, who were not in the very lad dages of the didemper, though they had been long confined to their hammocks, exerted the fmall remains of drength that were left them, and crawled up to the deck to fead themfelves with this reviving profpe<5b. Thus we coaded the fhore, fully employed in the contemplation of this in- chanting landlkip, which dill improved upon us the farther we ad- vanced. But at lad the night clofed upon us, before we had fa- tisfied ourfelves which was the proper bay to anchor in ; and there- fore we refolved to keep in foundings all night, (we having then from fixty-four to feventy fathom) and to fend our boat next morning to difcover the road : However, the current fhifted in the night, and fet us fo near the land, that we were obliged to let go the bed bower in fifty-fix fathom, not half a mile from the fhore. At four in the morning, the Cutter was difpatched with our third Lieutenant to find out the bay we were in fearch of, who returned again at noon with the boat laden with feals and grafs j for though the Ifland abounded with better vegetables, yet the boat’s-crew, in their fhort day, had not met with them; and they well knew that even grafs would prove a dainty, as indeed it was all foon and eagerly devoured. The feals too were confidered as frefh provifion ; but as yet were not much admired, tho’ they grew aderwards into more repute : For what rendered them lefs valuable at this juncture, was the prodigious quantity of excellent fifh, which the people on board had taken, during the abfence of the boat, 4 The ( ) The Cutter, in this expedition, had difcovered the bay where wfc intended to anchor, which we found was to the weftward of our prefent ftation ; and, the next morning, the weather proving favou- rable, we endeavoured to weigh, in order to proceed thither : But though, on this occalion, we muftered all the ftrength we could, obliging even the lick, who were fcarce able to keep on their leggs, to affift us ; yet the capftan was fo weakly manned, that it was near four hours before we hove the cable right up and down: After which, with our utmofl efforts, and with many furges and fome purchafes we made ufe of to encreafe our power, we found our- felves incapable of liar ting the anchor from the ground. However, at noon, as a frelh gale blew towards the bay, we were induced to fet the fails, which fortunately tripped the anchor ; and then we fleered along fhore, till we came a-breafl of the point that forms the eaflern part of the bay. On the opening of the bay, the wind, that had befriended us thus far, fhifted and blew from thence in fqualls ; but by means of the head- way we had got, we loofed clofe in, till the anchor brought us up in fifty-lix fathom. Soon af- ter we had thus got to our new birth, we difcovered a fail, which we made no doubt was one of our fquadron j and on its nearer ap- proach, we found it to be the Tryal Sloop. We immediately fent fome of our hands on board her, by whofe affillance Ihe was brought to an anchor between us and the land. We foon found that the Sloop had not been exempted from the fame calamities which we had fo feverely felt ; for her Commander, Captain Saunders , waiting on the Commodore, informed him, that out of his fmall complement, he had buried thirty-four of his men ; and thofe that remained were fo univerfally affiidled with the fcurvy, that only himfelf, his Lieutenant, and three of his men, were able to Hand by the fails. The Tryal came to an anchor within us, on the 12th, about noon, and we carried our hawfers on board her, in order to moor ourfelves nearer in fhore ; but the wind coming off the land in violent gulls, prevented our mooring in the birth we intend- ed. Indeed our principal attention was employed on bufinefs 3 rather ( JI 3 ) rather of more importance : for we were now extremely occupied in fending on fhore materials to raife tents for the reception of the fick, who died apace on board, and doubtlefs the diftemper was confiderably augmented, by the flench and filthinefs in which they lay; for the number of the difeafed was fo great, and fo few could be fpared from the neceflary duty of the fails to look after them, that it was impoffible to avoid a great relaxation in the article of cleanlinefs, which had rendered the fhip extremely loathfome be- tween decks. Notwithstanding our defire of freeing the tick from their hateful fituation, and their own extreme impatience to get on fhore, we had not hands enough to prepare the tents for their reception before the 16th ; but on that and the two following days we fent them all on fhore, amounting to a hundred and fixty- feven perfons, betides twelve or fourteen who died in the boats, on their being expofed to the frefh air. The greatefl part of our tick were fo infirm, that we were obliged to carry them out of the fhip in their hammocks, and to convey them afterwards in the fame man- ner from the water-fide to their tents, over a flony beach. This was a work of confiderable fatigue to the few who were healthy, and therefore the Commodore, according to his accuftomed humanity, not only affifted herein with his own labour, but obliged his Officers, without diftin&ion, to give their helping hand. The extreme weaknefs of our fick may in fome meafure be collected from the numbers who died after they had got on fhore ; for it had generally been found, that the land, and the refrefhments it produces, very foon recover mofl ftages of the fea-fcurvy ; and we flattered our- felves, that thofe who had not perifhed on this firff expofure to the open air, but had lived to be placed in their tents, would have been fpeedily reftored to their health and vigour : Yet, to our great mortification, it was near twenty days after their landing, be- fore the mortality was tolerably ceafed ; and for the firft ten or twelve days, we buried rarely lefs than fix each day, and many of thofe, who furvived, recovered by very flow and infenfible degrees. Indeed, thofe who were well enough at their firfl: getting on fhore, to ( lr 4 ) to creep out of their tents, and crawl about, were foon relieved, and recovered their health and ftrength in a very fhort time ; but in the reft, the difeafe feemed to have acquired a degree of inveteracy which was altogether without example. Having proceeded thus far, and got our fick on fhore, I think It neceflary, before I enter into any longer detail of our tranfaCtions, to give a diftinCt account of this Ifland of 'Juan Fernandes , its fili- ation, productions, and all its conveniences. Thefe particulars we were well enabled to be minutely inftrudted in, during our three months ft ay there ; and as it is the only commodious place in thofe feas, where Britijh cruifers can refrefh and recover their men after their paffage round Cape Horn, and where they may remain for fome time without alarming the Spanijh coaft, thefe its advan- tages well merit a circumftantial defcription. Indeed Mr. Anfon was particularly induftrious in directing the roads and coafts to be furveyed, and other obfervations to be made, knowing, from his own experience, of how great confequence thefe materials might prove to any Britijh veflels hereafter employed in thofe feas. For the uncertainty we were in of its pofition, and our ftanding in for the Main on the 28th of May , in order to fecure a fufficient eaft- ing, when we were indeed extremely near it, coft us the lives of between feventy and eighty of our men, by our longer continuance at fea: From which fatal accident we might have been exempted, had we been furnifhed with fuch an account of its fituation, as we could fully have depended on. The Ifland of Juan Fernandes lies in the latitude of 33° : 40' South, and is a hundred and ten leagues diftant from the Continent of Chili. It is faid to have received its name from a Spaniard, who formerly procured a grant of it, and refided there fome time with a view of fettling on it, but afterwards abandoned it. On approach- ing it on its eaft fide, it appears, as reprefented in the annexed plate, where ( a ) is a fmall Ifland, called Goat IJland, to the S. W. of it ; (b) a rock, called Monkey Key , almoft contiguous to it; ( c ) is the Eaft bay, (d) Cumberland Bay, where we moored, and which, as e/idt /irojfietf oft/ie Poland of IUAN FERNANDE S m die ootidi oea,. ' - Monkey Key Fine Sand Fine dark. Sand 'W& H(‘?, J'fe. u W •v&''AU‘ii •» • •- -~- jT" «&5. «M jfc-" ' t \ t4 • £hg* -~r _; !»*** Barren Land Cumberland Bay Fine Sand Fine Sand The Weft Bay. A Scale of two Leagues . APLANof lUAN FERNANDES I Hand in the South Sea, lying in the Latitude of 33^40™ South, and Weft from the Continent of CHILI no Leagues ■ — Variation of the Compafs io^oo™E. , Phi*. '//■ A Survey of the north east si he of Iijan Fernandes Island in the South Sea J'oulGround The Weft Bay si >; SBafl*r 4 fv 1 ; thy i “ 1 * , - ' -> ’ t> J , 3 - *1 *- tA L SC Fine Sand Cumberland -,e t* 2 , * «£ t The Eaft Bay Fine Sand The Spout A Scale of two Miles cAj vum> of CUMBERLAND BAY at the. /f.ilaml of WAN FERNANDES. ( *‘5 ) Will be observed, is the belt road for Ihipping, and (e) the Eaft bay. The Illand itfelf is of an irregular figure, as may be feen by a very exadl plan of it here inferted. Its greatefi: extent is be- tween four and five leagues, and its greatefi: breadth fomewhat Ihort of two leagues. The only fafe anchoring at this Ifland is on the North fide, where are the three bays mentioned above, but the middlemofi: known by the name of Cumberland Bay , is the wideft and deepefi:, and in all refpe<5ts much the belt ; for the other two, denominated the Eafi: and Well bays, are fcarcely more than good landing places, where boats may conveniently put their calk on lliore. A plan of the N. E. fide of the Illand, containing thefe three bays, drawn by a large fcale, is here inferted, where it ap- pears, that Cumberland Bay is well fecured to the fouthward, and that it is only expofed from the N» by W. to the E. by S ; and as the northerly winds feldom blow in that climate, and never with any violence, the danger from that quarter is not worth attending to. To diftinguilh this bay the better at fea, I have added a very exad: view of it, which will enable all future Navigators readily to know it. As the bay laft defcribed, or Cumberland Bay, is by far the moll commodious road in the Illand ; fo it is advifeable for all Ihips to an- chor on the wellern fide of this bay, within little more than two cables length of the beach. Here they may ride in forty fathom of water, and be, in a great meafure, Iheltered from a large heavy fea, which comes rolling in whenever an eaftern or a wefiiern wind blows. It is however expedient, in this cafe, to cackle or arm the cables with an iron chain, or good rounding, for five or fix fathom from the anchor, to fecure them from being rubbed by the foulnefs of the ground, ‘ : I have before obferved, that a northerly wind, to which alone this bay is expofed, very rarely blew during our Hay here ; and as it was then winter, it may be fuppofed, in other feafons, to be lefs frequent. Indeed, in thofe few inftances when it was in that quar- ter, it did not blow with any great force : But this perhaps might Qw 2 be ( 116 ) be owing to die highlands on the fouthward of the bay, which checked its current, and thereby abated its violence j for we had reafon to fuppofe, that a few leagues off, it blew with confiderable ftrength, fince it fometimes drove before it a prodigious fea, in which we rode fore-caftle in. But though the northern winds are never to be apprehended j yet the fouthern winds, which generally prevail here, frequently blow off the land in violent gutts and fqualls, which however rarely laft longer than two or three minutes. This feems to be owing to the obttrudtion of the fouthern gale, by the hills in the neighbourhood of the bay ; for the wind being collected by this means, at lad; forces its pattage through the narrow vallies, which, like fo many funnels, both facilitate its efcape, and increafe its violence. Thefe frequent and fudden gufts make it difficult for fhips to work in with the wind off fliore, or to keep a clear hawfe when anchored. The northern part of this Ifland is compofed of high craggy hills, many of them inacceffible, though generally covered with trees. The foil of this part is loofe and ihallow, fo that very large trees on the hills foon perifh for want of root, and are then eafily overturned} which occafioned the unfortunate death of one of our failors, who being upon the hills in fearch of goats, caught hold of a tree upon a declivity to afiitt him in his afeent, and this giving way, he im- mediately rolled down the hill, and though in his fall he fattened on another tree of confiderable bulk, yet that too gave way, and he fell amongtt the rocks, and was dafhed to pieces. Mr. Brett likewife met with an accident only by retting his back againft a tree, near as large about as himfelf, which ftood on a flope; for the tree giving way, he fell to a confiderable diftance, though without receiving any injury. Our prifoners (whom, as will be related in the fequel, we afterwards brought in here) remarked, that the appearance of the hills in fome part of the Ifland refembled that of the mountains in Chili , where the gold is found : So that it is not impoffible but mines might be difeovered here. We obferved, in fome places, feveral hills of a peculiar fort of red earth, exceeding vermilion in colour, which t ”7 ) which perhaps, on examination, might prove ufeful for many purpofes. The fouthern, or rather the S. W. part of the Ifland, as diftinguifhed in the plan, is widely different from the reft, being dry, ftony, and deftitute of trees, and very flat and low, compared with the hills on the northern part. This part of the Ifland is never fre- quented by fhips, being furrounded by a fteep fhore, and having little or no frefh water j and befides, it is expofed to the foutherly wind, which generally blows here the whole year round, and in the winter folftice very hard. The trees of which the woods on the northern fide of the Ifland are compofed, are moft of them aromaticks, and of many different forts : There are none of them of a fize to yield any confiderable timber, except the myrtle-trees, which are the largeft on the Ifland, and fupplied us with all the timber we made ufe of j but even thefe would not work to a greater length than forty feet. The top of the myrtle-tree is circular, and appears as uni- form and regular, as if it had been clipped by art ; it bears on its bark an excrefcence like mofs, which in tafte and fmell refembles garlick, and was ufed by our people inftead of it. We found here too the piemento-tree and likewife the cabbage-treee, though in no great plenty. And, befides a great number of plants of various kinds, which we were not botanifts enough either to defcribe, or attend to, we found here almoft all the vegetables, which are ufually efteemed to be particularly adapted to the cure of thofe fcorbutick diforders, which are contracted by fait diet and long voyages. For here we had great quantities of water-creffes and purflain, with excellent wild forrel, and a vaft profufion of turnips and Sicilian radifhes : Thefe two laft, having fome refemblance to each other, were confounded by our people under the general name of turnips. We ufually preferred the tops of the turnips to the roots, which were often ftringy j though fome of them were free from that exception, and remarkably good. Thefe vegetables, with the fifh and flefti we got here, and which I fhall more par- ticularly defcribe hereafter, were not only extremely grateful to 4 our t n8 ) our palates, after the long courfe of fait diet which we had been confined to, but were likewife of the moft falutary confequence to our fick in recovering and invigorating them, and of no mean fervice to us who were well, in deftroying the lurking feeds of the fcurvy, from which perhaps none of us were totally exempt* and in refrelhing and reftoring us to our wonted ftrength and activity. To the vegetables I have already mentioned, of which we made perpetual ufe, I muft add, that we found many acres of ground covered with oats and clover. There were alfo fome few cabbage- trees upon the Ifiand, as was obferved before ; but as they gene- rally grew on the precipices, and in dangerous fituations, and as it was neceffary to cut down a large tree for every fingle cabbage, this was a dainty that we were able but rarely to indulge in. The excellence of the climate and the loofenefs of the foil ren- der this place extremely proper for all kinds of vegetation ; for if the ground be any where accidentally turned up, it is immediately overgrown with turnips and Sicilian radifhes ; Mr. Anfon therefore having with him garden-feeds of all kinds, and Hones of different forts of fruits, he, for the better accommodation of his country- men who fliould hereafter touch here, fowed both lettices, car- rots, and other garden plants, and fett in the woods a great variety of plumb, apricodt, and peach ffones : And thefe laft he has been informed have fince thriven to a very remarkable degree for fome Gentlemen, who in their paffage from Lima to Old Spain were taken and brought to England , having procured leave to wait upon Mr. Anfon , to thank him for his generofity and humanity to his prifoners, fome of whom were their relations, they, in cafual dif- courfe with him about his tranfattions in the South-Seas , particu- larly alked him, if he had not planted a great number of fruit- ftones on the Ifiand of 'Juan Fernandes ; for they told him, their late Navigators had difcovered there numbers of peach-trees and apri- co6l-trees, which being fruits before unobferved in that place, they concluded them to have been produced from kernels fett by him. And ( ”9 ) This may in general fuffice as to the foil and vegetable produc- tions of this place : But the face of the country, at lead of the North part of the Illand, is fo extremely lingular, that I cannot avoid giving it a particular confideration. I have already taken notice of the wild, inhofpitable air with which it firft appeared to us, and the gradual improvement of this uncouth landfkip as we drew nearer, till we were at laft captivated by the numerous beau- ties we difcovered on the fhore. And I muft now add, that we found, during the time of our refidence there, that the inland parts of the Ifland did no ways fall fhort of the fanguine prepoffeffions which we firft entertained in their favour. For the woods, which covered moft of the fteepeft hills, were free from all bullies and underwood, and afforded an eafy palfage through every part of them j and the irregularities of the hills and precipices, in the northern part of the Illand, necelfarily traced out by their various combinations a great number of romantic vallies ; moft of which had a ftream of the cleared: water running through them, that tumbled in cafcades from rock to rock, as the bottom of the valley, by the courfe of the neighbouring hills, was at any time broken into a fudden fharp defcent : Some particular fpots occur- red in thefe vallies, where the fliade and fragrance of the con- tiguous woods, the loftinefs of the overhanging rocks, and the tranfparency and frequent falls of the neighbouring ftreams, pre- fented fcenes of fuch elegance and dignity, as would with dif- ficulty be rivalled in any other part of the globe. It is in this place, perhaps, that the fimple productions of unalMed nature may be faid to excel all the fictitious delcriptions of the moft ani- mated imagination. I fhall finifh this article with a fliort account of that fpot where the Commodore pitched his tent, and which he - made choice of for his own refidence, though I defpair of con- veying an adequate idea of its beauty. The piece of ground which lie chofe was a fmall lawn, that lay on a little afcent, at the diftance of about half a mile from the fea. In the front of his tent there viras a large avenue cut through the woods to the fea-fide, which ( 120 ) iloping to the water with a gentle defcent, opened a profped of the bay and the fhips at anchor. This lawn was fcreened behind by a tall wood of myrtle fweeping round it, in the form of a theatre, the hope on which the wood hood, riling with a much lharper afcent than the lawn itfelf, though not fo much, but that the hills and precipices within land towered up confiderably above the tops of the trees, and added to the grandeur of the view. There were, befides, two ftreams of chryftal water, which ran on the right and left of the tent, within an hundred yards diftance, and were fhaded by the trees which fkirted the lawn on either fide, and compleated the fymmetry of the whole. Some faint conceptions of the elegance of this fituation may perhaps be better deduced from the draught of it, inferted in the adjoining plate. It remains now only that we fpeak of the animals and provifions which we met with at this place. Former writers have related, that this Ifland abounded with vafi: numbers of goats, and their accounts are not to be queftioned, this place being the ufual haunt of the buccaneers and privateers, who formerly frequented thofe fleas. And there are two inftances ; one of a Mufquito Indian , and the other of Alexander Selkirk , a Scotchman , who were left here by their refpe&ive fhips, and lived alone upon this Ifland for fome years, and confequently were no ftrangers to its produce. Selkirk , who was the laft, after a ftay of between four and five years, was taken off the place by the Duke and Duchefs Privateers of Brijlol , as may be feen at large in the journal of their voyage : His manner of life, during his folitude, was in moft particulars very remarkable ; but there is one circumftance he relates, which was fo ffrangely verified by our own obfervation, that I cannot help reciting it. He tell us, amongft other things, that as he often caught more goats than he wanted, lie fometimes marked their ears and let them go. This was about thirty-two years before our arrival at the Ifland. Now it happened, that the firfl: goat that was killed by our people at their landing had his ears flit, whence we concluded, that he had doubt- lejs been formerly under the power of Selkirk. This was indeed an animal { 121 ) animal of a moil venerable afpeft, dignified with an exceeding ma- jeftic beard, and with many other fymptoms of antiquity. During our ftay on the Ifland, we met with others marked in the fame manner, all the males being diftinguifhed by an exuberance of beard, and every other charadteriftick of extreme age. But the great numbers of goats, which former writers defcribe to have been found upon this Ifland, are at prefent very much dimi- nifhed : As the Spaniards being informed of the advantages which the buccaneers and privateers drew from the provifions which goats-flefh here furnfihed them with, have endeavoured to extir- pate the breed, thereby to deprive their enemies of this relief. For this purpofe, they have put on fhore great numbers of large dogs, who have encreafed apace, and have deftroyed all the goats in the accefiible part of the country > fo that there now remain only a few amongft the craggs and precipices, where the dogs cannot follow them. Thefe are divided into feparate herds of twenty or thirty each, which inhabit diftindt faftnefles, and never mingle with each other : By this means we found it extremely difficult to kill them ; and yet we were fo defirous of their flefh, which we all agreed much refembled venifon, that we got knowledge, I believe, of all their herds, and it was conceived, by comparing their numbers to- gether, that they fcarcely exceeded two hundred upon the whole Ifland. I remember we had once an opportunity of obferving a re- markable difpute betwixt a herd of thefe animals, and a number of dogs ; for going in our boat into the eaftern bay, we perceived fome dogs running very eagerly upon the foot, and being willing to dis- cover what game they were after, we lay upon our oars fome time to view them, and at laft faw them take to a hill, where looking a little further, we obferved upon the ridge of it an herd of goats, which feemed drawn up for their reception. There was a very nar- row path fkirted on each fide by precipices, on which the Matter of the herd polled himfelf fronting the enemy, the reft of the goats being ail behind him, where the ground was more open : As R this; ( 122 ) this fpot was inacceflible by any other path, excepting were this champion had placed himfelf, the dogs, though they ran up-hill with great alacrity, yet when they came within about twenty yards of him, they found they durft not encounter him, (for he would infallibly have driven them down the precipice) but gave over the chace, and quietly laid themfelves down, panting at a great rate. Thefe dogs, who are matters of all the acceffible parts of the Ifiand, are of various kinds, fome of them very large, and are multiplied to a prodigious degree. They fometimes came down to our habitations at night, and ftole our provifion ; and once or twice they fet upon fingle perfons, but afliftance being at hand, they were driven off without doing any mifchief. As at prefent it is rare for goats to fall in their way, we conceived that they lived principally upon young feals ; and indeed fome of our people had the curiofity to kill dogs fometimes and drefs them, and it feemed to be agreed that they had a fifhy tatte. Goats-flefh, as I have mentioned, being fcarce, we rarely being -able to kill above one a day ; and our people growing tired of fifli, (which, as I (hall hereafter obferve, abound at this place) they at laft condefcended to eat feals, which by degrees they came to re« Jiih, and called it lamb. The feal, numbers of which haunt this Iiland, hath been fo often mentioned by former writers, that it is unneceffary to fay any thing particular about them in this place. But there is another amphibious creature to be met with here, called a fea-lyon, that bears fome refemblance to a feal, though it is much larger . This too we eat under the denomination of beef ; and as it is fo extraordinary an animal, I conceive, it well merits a particular defcription. They are in fize, when arrived at their full growth, from twelve to twenty feet in length, and from eight to fifteen in circumference : They are extremely fat, fo that after having cut thro’ the fkin, which is about an inch in thicknefs, there is at leatt a foot of fat before you can come at either lean or bones ; and we experi- enced more than once, that the fat of fome of the largett afforded us v ' ( f ( 123 ) us a* butt of oil. They are likewife very full of blood, for if they are deeply wounded in a dozen places, there will inftantly gufh out as many fountains of blood, fpouting to a confiderable diftance > and to try what quantity of blood they contained, we (hot one firlf, and then cut its throat, and meafuring the blood that came from him, we found, that befides what remained in the veffels, which to be fure was confiderable, we got at lead: two hogfheads. Their fkins are covered with fhort hair of a light dun colour, but their tails and their fins, which ferve them for feet on fhore, are almofl black j their fins or feet are divided at the ends like fingers, the web which joins them not reaching to the extremities, and each of thefe fingers is furnifiied with a nail. They have a diftant refem- blance to an overgrown feal, though in fome particulars there is a manifed difference between them, efpecially in the males. Thefe have a large fnout or trunk hanging down five or fix inches be- low the end of the upper jaw j which the females have not, and this renders the countenance of the male and female eafy to be dif- tinguifhed from each other, and befides, the males are of a much larger fize. The form and appearance both of the male and female are very exactly reprefented in the annexed plate, only the difpro- portion of their fize is not ufually fo great as is there exhibited ; for the male was drawn from the life, after the larged of thefe animals, which was found upon the Ifland : He was the mafter of the flock, and from his driving off the other males, and keeping a great num- ber of females to hirafelf, he was by the feamen ludicroufly ftiled the Bafhaw. Thefe animals divide their time equally between the land and fea, continuing at fea all the fummer, and coming on fhore at the fetting in of the winter, where they refide during that whole feafon. In this interval they engender and bring forth their young, and have generally two at a birth j which they fuckle with their milk, they being at fird about the fize of a full-grown feal. During the time thefe fea-lions continue on fhore, they feed on tire grafs and verdure which grows near the banks of the frefh-water R 2 dreams $ ( 12 + ) /beams ; and, when not employed in feeding, fleep in herds in the mod; miry places they can find out. As they feem to be of a very lethargic difpofition, and are not eafily awakened, each herd was obferved to place fome of their males at a diftance, in the nature of fentinels, who never failed to alarm them, whenever any one at- tempted to moleft, or even to approach them ; and they were very capable of alarming, even at a confiderable diftance, for the noife they make is very loud and of different kinds, fometimes grunting like hogs, and at other times fnorting like horfes in full vigour. They often, efpecially the males, have furious battles with each other, principally about their females ; and we were one day extremely furprized by the fight of two animals, which at firff appeared different from all we had ever obferved, but, on a nearer approach, they proved to be two fea-lions, who had been goring each other with their teeth, and were covered over with blood : And the Bafhaw before-mentioned, who generally lay fiirrounded with a feraglio of females, which no other male dared to ap- proach, had not acquired that envied pre-eminence without many bloody contefts, of which the marks ftill remained in the nume- rous fears which were vifible in every part of his body. We killed many of them for food, particularly for their hearts and tongues, which we efteemed exceeding good eating, and preferable even to thofe of bullocks : In general there was no difficulty in killing them, for they were incapable either of efcaping or refilling ; as their motion is the moll unweildy that can be conceived, their blubber, all the time they are moving, being agitated in large waves under their fkins. Hov/ever, a failor one day being care- lefsly employed in fkinning a young fea-lion, the female, from whence he had taken it, came upon him unperceived, and getting his head in her mouth, fhe with her teeth fcored his fkull in notches in many places, and thereby wounded him fo defpe- rately, that though all poffible care was taken of him, he died in a few days. Thefe ( 125 ) Thefe are the principal animals, which we found upon the • Illand : For we faw but few birds, and thofe chiefly hawks, blackbirds, owls, and humming birds. We faw not the Pardela, which burrows in the ground, and which former writers have mentioned to be found here; but as we often met with their holes, we fuppofed that the dogs had deftroyed them, as they have al- moft done the cats: For thefe were very numerous in Selkirk ' s time, but we faw not above one or two during our whole flay. However, the rats ftill keep their ground, and continue here in great numbers, and were very troublefome to us, by infefting our tents nightly. But that which furnifhed us with the moil delicious repafts at this Illand, remains Ftill to be defcribed. This was the fifh, with . which the whole bay was moft plentifully ftored, and with the greateft variety: For we found here cod of a prodigious fize ; and. by the report of fome of our crew, who had been formerly em-. ployed in the Newfoundland filhery, not in lefs plenty than is to be met with on the banks of that Illand. We caught alfo cavallies, gropers, large breams, maids, lilver fifh, congers of a peculiar kind, and above all, a black fifh which we moft efteemed, called by fome a Chimney fweeper, in fhape refembling a carp. The beach indeed is every where fo full of rocks and loofe ftones, that there is no poftibility of haling the Seyne ; but with hooks and lines we caught what numbers we pleafed, fo that a boat with two or three lines would return loaded with fifh in about two or three hours time. The only interruption we ever met with, arofe from great quantities of dog-fifh and large fharks, which fometimes attended our boats and prevented our fport. Beftdes the hill we have already mentioned, we found here one delicacy in greater perfec- tion, both as to fize, flavour and quantity, than is perhaps to be met with in any other part of the world : This was fea cra-fifh; they generally weighed eight or nine pounds apiece, were of a moft excel- lent tafte, and lay in fuch abundance near the water s edge, that the boat- ( *26 ) boat-hooks often ftruck into them, in putting the boat to and from the fhore. Thefe are the moft material articles relating to the accommoda- tions, foil, vegetables, animals, and other productions of the Iiland of Juan Fernandes : By which it muft appear, how properly that place was adapted for recovering us from the deplorable fituation tO' which our tedious and unfortunate navigation round Cape Horn had reduced us. And having thus given the reader fome idea of the lite and circumftances of this place, which was to be our refidence for three months j I {hall now proceed, in the next chapter, to re- late all that occurred to us in that interval, refuming my narration from the 18 th day of June, being the day in which the Tryal Sloop, having by a fquall been driven out to fea three days before,, came again to her moorings, the day in which we finilhed the fending our fick on {hore, and about eight days after our firft an- choring at this Iiland. CHAP. ( 127 ) CHAP. II. The arrival of the Gloucefier and the Anna Pink at the Hland of yuan Fernandes , and the tranfadtions at that place during this interval. T H E arrival of the j tryal Sloop at this Ifland, fo foon after we came there ourfelves, gave us great hopes of being fpeedily joined by the reft of the fquadron > and we were for fome days continually looking out, in expectation of their coming in fight. But near a fortnight being elapfed, without any of them having appeared, we began to defpair of ever meeting them again ; as we knew that had our fhip continued fo much longer at fea, we ftiould every man of us have periftied, and the veffel, oc- cupied by dead bodies only, would have been left to the caprice of the winds and waves : And this we had great reafon to fear was the fate of our conforts, as each hour added to the probability of thefe defponding fuggeftions. But on the 2 1 ft of June , fome of our people, from an eminence on fhore, difcerned a fhip to leeward, with her courfes even with the horizon ; and they, at the fame time, particularly obferved, that fhe had no fail abroad except her courfes and her main top-fail. This circumftance made them conclude that it was one of our fqua- dron, which had probably fuffered in her fails and rigging as feverely as we had done : But they were prevented from forming more de- finite conjectures about her ; for, after viewing her for a fhort time, the weather grew thick and hazy, and they loft fight of her. On this report, and no fhip appearing for fome days, we Were all un- der the greateft concern, fufpeCting that her people were in the ut- moft diftrefs for want of water, and fo diminifhed and weakned by ficknefs, as not to be able to ply up to windward , fo that we 4 feared, ( 12 8 ) feared that, after having been in fight of the Ifland, her whole crew would notwithftanding perifh at fea. However, on the 26th, towards noon, we difcerned a fail in the North Eaft quarter,, which we conceived to be the very fame fhip that had been feen be- fore, and our conjectures proved true : And about one o’clock the approached fo near, that we could diftinguifh her to be the Glou- cejler. As we had no doubt of her being in great diftrefs, the Commodore immediately ordered his boat to her affiftance, laden with freffi water, fifh and vegetables, which was a very feafonable relief to them ; for our apprehenfions of their calamities appeared to be but too well grounded, as perhaps there never was a crew in a more diftrefled fituation. They had already thrown over-board two thirds of their complement, and of thofe which remained alive, fcarcely any were capable of doing duty, except the officers and their fervants. They had been a confiderable time at the fmall allowance of a pint of freffi water to each man for twenty-four hours, and yet they had fo little left, that, had it not been for the fupply we fent them, they muft foon have died of thirft. The fhip plied in within three miles of the bay ; but, the winds and currents being contrary, fhe could not reach the road. However, flie continued in the offing the next day ; but as fhe had no chance of coming to an anchor, unlefs the wind and currents fhifted • the Commodore repeated his afiiftance, fending to her the TJryaV s boat manned with the Centurion's people, and a farther fupply of water and other refrefhments. Captain Mitchell , the Cap- tain of the Gloucejler , was under a necefiity of detaining both this boat and that fent the preceding day ; for without the help of their crews he had no longer ftrength enough to navigate the fhip. In this tantalizing fituation the Gloucejler continued for near a fortnight, with- out being able to fetch the road, though frequently attempting it, and at fome times bidding very fair for it. On the 9th of July, we obferved her ftretching away to the eaftward at a confiderable di- ftance, which we fuppofed was with a defign to get to the fouth- ward of the Ifland ; but as we foon loft fight of her, and fhe did 4 not ( 129 ) not appear for near a week, we were prodigioufly concerned, know- ing that Ihe muft be again in extreme diftrefs for want of water. After great impatience about her, we difeovered her again on the 1 6th, endeavouring to come round the eaftern point of the Illand; but the wind, ftill blowing diredtly from the bay, prevented her get- ting nearer than within four leagues of the land. On this, Cap- tain Mitchel made lignals of diftrefs, and our long-boat was fent to him with a ftore of water, and plenty of fifh, and other refrelh- ments. And the long-boat being not to be fpared, the Cockfwain had pofttive orders from the Commodore to return again immediate- ly ; but the weather proving ftormy the next day, and the boat not appearing, we much feared £he was loft, which would have proved an irretrievable misfortune to us all: However, the 3d day after, we were relieved from this anxiety, by the joyful light of the long-boat’s fails upon the water ; on which we fent the Cutter immediately to her af- fiftance, who towed her along fide in a few hours ; when we found that the crew of our long boat had taken in ftx of the Gloucefler ' s lick men to bring them on fhore, two of which had died in the boat. We now learnt that the Gloucefler was in a moft dreadful con- dition, having fcarcely a man in health on board, except thofe they received from us : and, numbers of their Tick dying daily, it appear- ed that, had it not been for the laft fupply fent by our long-boat, both the healthy and difeafed muft have all perifhed together for want of water. Thefe calamities were the more terrifying, as they appeared to be without remedy: For the Gloucejler had already fpent a month in her endeavours to fetch the bay, and Ihe was now no farther advanced than at the lirft moment Ihe made the Illand ; on the contrary, the people on board her had worn out all their hopes of ever fucceeding in it, by the many experiments they had made of its difficulty. Indeed, the fame day her lituation grew more defperate than ever, for after Ihe had received our laft fupply of re- frelhments, we again loft fight of her j fo that we in general defpair- ed of her ever coming to an anchor. S Thus f 13© ) Thus was this unhappy veftel bandied about within a few leagues; of her intended harbour, whilft the neighbourhood of that place: and of thofe circumftances, which could alone put an end to the: calamities they laboured under, ferved only to aggravate their dif- trefs, by torturing them with a view of the relief it was not iu their power to reach. But fhe was at laft delivered from this dread- ful lituation,, at a time when we lead: expected it 3 for after having loft light of her for feveral days, we were plealmgly furprized, on, the morning of the 23d of July, to fee her open the N. W. point of the bay with a flo wing fail j when we immediately difpatched what: boats we had to her afiiftance, and in an hour’s time from our firft perceiving her, fhe anchored fafe within us in the bay. And now we were more particularly convinced of the importance of the af- fiftance and refreihments we fo often lent them, and how impofli- ble it would have been for a man of them to have furvived, had we given lefs attention to. their wants j for notwithftanding the wa- ter, the greens, and frefh provilions which we fupplied them with, and the hands we fent them to navigate the fhip, by which the fa- tigue of their own people was diminilhed, their lick relieved, and the mortality abated; notwithftanding this indulgent care of the Commodore, they yet buried above three fourths of their crew, and a very fmall proportion of the remainder were capable of aftifting in the duty of the fhip. On their coming to an anchor, our firft endea- vours were to affift them in mooring, and our next to fend their fick on fhore : Thefe were now reduced by deaths to lefs than fourfcore, of which we expected to lofe the greateft part y but whether it was, that thofe fartheft advanced in the diftemper were all dead, or that the greens and frelh provilions we had fent on board had prepared thofe which remained for a more fpeedy recovery, it happened con- trary to our expectations, that their lick were in general relieved and reftored to their ftrength, in a much Ihorter time than our own had been when we firft came to the Hand, and very few of them died ©n fhore. I have ( * 3 * ) 1 have thus given an account of the principal events, relating to the arrival of the Gloucejier , in one continued narration. I fhall only add, that we never were joined by any other of our fhips, ex- cept our Victualler, the Anna Pink , who came in about the middle of Augufi , and whofe hiftory I fhall defer for the prefent j as it is now high time to return to the account of our own tranfaCtions on board and on fhore, during the interval of the Gloucejier' s frequent and ineffectual attempts to reach the Ifland. Our next employment, after fending our lick on fhore from the Centurion , was cleanfing our fhip and filling our water. The firjft of thefe meafures was indifpenfibly neceflary to our future health ; us the numbers of fick, and the unavoidable negligence arifing from our deplorable fituation at fea, had rendered the decks moft intole- rably loathfome. And the filling our water was a caution that ap- peared not lefs effential to our fecurity, as we had reafon to ap- prehend that accidents might intervene, which would oblige us to quit the Ifland at a very fhort warning ; for fome Appearances we had difcovered on fhore upon our firft landing, gave us grounds to believe, that there were Spanijh cruifers in thefe feas, which had left the Ifland but a fhort time before our arrival, and might pofllbly return thither again, either for a recruit of water, or in fearch of us j fince we could not doubt, but that the foie bufinefs they had at fea was to intercept us, and we knew that this Ifland Was the likelieft place, in then* own opinion, to meet with us. The circumflances, which gave rife to thefe reflections (in part of which We Were not miflaken, as fhall be obferved more at large hereafter) were our find- ing on fhore feveral pieces of earthen jars, made ufe of in thofe feas for water and other liquids, which appeared to be frefh broken ; We faw too many heaps of afhes, and near them fifh-bones and pieces of fifh, befides whole fifh fcattered here and there, which plainly appeared to have been but a fhort time out of the water, as they were but jufl: beginning to decay. Thefe were certain indica- tions that there had been fhips at this place but a fhort time before we came there ; and as all Spanijh Merchant-men are inftruCted to S 2 avoid ( 132 ) avoid the Ifland, on account of its being the common rendezvous of their enemies, we concluded thofe who had touched here to be fhips of force ; and not knowing that Pizarro was returned to, Buenos Ayres , and ignorant what ftrength might have been fitted out at Callao , we were under fome concern for our fafety, being in fo wretched and enfeebled a condition, that notwithftanding the rank of our fhip, and the fixty guns fhe carried on board, which would only have aggravated our dishonour, there was fcarcely a privateer fent to fea, that was not an over-match for us. However, our fears on this head proved imaginary, and we were not ex- pofed to the difgrace, which might have been expeited to have befallen us, had we been neceftitated (as we muft have been, had the enemy appeared) to fight our fixty-gun fhip with no more than thirty hands. Whilft the cleaning our fhip and the filling our water went on, we fet up a large copper-oven on fhore near the fick tents, in which we baked bread every day for the fhip’s company ; for being extremely defirous of recovering our fick as foon as poffible, we conceived that new bread added to their greens and frefh fifh, might prove a powerful article in their relief. Indeed we had all imagi- nable reafon to endeavour at the augmenting our prefent ftrength, as every little accident, which to a full crew would be infignificant, was extremely alarming in our prefent helplefs fituation : Of this, we had a troublefome inftance on the 30th of June j for at five in the morning, we were aftonifhed by a violent gufl of wind direitly off fhore, which inftantly parted our fmall bower cable about ten fathom from the ring of the anchor : The fhip at once fwung off to the belt bower, which happily flood the violence of the jerk, and brought us up with two cables an end in eighty fathom. At this time we had not above a dozen feamen in the fhip, and we were apprehenfive, if the fquall continued, that we fhould be driven to fea in this wretched condition. However, we fent the boat on fhore, to bring off all who v/ere capable of ailing j and the wind, foon abating of its fury, gave. us. an opportunity of receiving the boat back ( 1 33 ) f - Y , ' back again with a reinforcement. With this additional flrength we immediately went to work, to heave in what remained of the cable, which we fufpeCted had received fome damage from the foulnefs of the ground before it parted ; and agreeable to our conjecture, we found that feven fathom and a half of the outer end had been rub- bed, and rendered unferviceable. In the afternoon, we bent the cable to the fpare anchor, and got it over the fhip’s fide ; and the next morning, July i, being favoured with the wind in gentle breezes, we warped the fhip in again, and let go the anchor in forty-one fathom ; the eaftermofl point now bearing from us E. 4 S j the weflermofl N.W. by W j and the bay as before, S. S. W ; a fituation in which we remained fecure for the future. However, we were much concerned for the lofs of our anchor, and fwept frequently for it, in hopes to have recovered it j but the buoy hav- ing funk at the very inflant that the cable parted, we were never able to find it. And now as we advanced m July , fome of our men being tole- rably recovered, the ftrongeft of them were put upon cutting down trees, and fplitting them into billets ; while others, who were too weak for this employ, undertook to carry the billets by one at a time to the water-fide : This they performed, fome of them with the help of crutches, and others fupported by a fingle flick. We next fent the forge on fhore, and employed our fmiths, who were but juft capable of working, in mending our chain-plates, and our other broken and decayed iron work. We began too the repairs of our rigging ; but as we had not junk enough to make dpurn-yarn, we deferred the general over-hale, in hopes of the daily arrival of the Gloucejler, who we knew had a great quantity of junk on board. However, that we might difpatch as fall as pofllble in our refitting, we fet up 'a large tent on the beach for the fail-makers ; and they were immediately employed in repairing our old fails, and making us new ones.. Thefe occupations, with our cleanfing and watering the fhip, (which was by this time pretty well compleated) the attendance on our i *34 ) our Tick, and the frequent relief feat to the GJouce/ler , were the principal tranfa&ions of our infirm crew, till the arrival of the Gloucejter at an anchor in the bay. And then Captain Mitchei waiting on the Commodore, informed him, that he had been forced by the winds, in his laft abfence, as far as the fmall Ifland called Mafa-Fuero , lying about twenty-two leagues to the weftward of Juan Fernandes j and that he endeavoured to fend his boat on fliore there for water, of which he could obferve feveral dreams, but the wind blew fo ftrong upon the fliore, and occafioned fucb a furf, that it was impoflible for the boat to land ; though the attempt was not altogether ufelefs, for his people returned with a boat-load of fifh. This Ifland had been reprefented by former Navigators as a barren rock ; but Captain Mitchei affured die Com- modore, that it was almofl: every where covered with trees and verdure, and was near four miles in length $ and added, that it appeared to him far from impoflible, but fome fmall bay might he found on it, which might afford Sufficient ffielter for any fliip defirous of refrefhing there. As four fliips of our fquadron were miffing, this defcripdon gf the Ifland of Mafa-Fuero gave rife to a conjecture, that fome of them might poffibly have fallen in with that Ifland, and might have miftaken it for the true place of pur rendezvous. This fuf- picion was the more plaufible, as we had no draught of either Ifland that could be relied on : And therefore, Mr. Anfon deter- mined to fend the Fryal Sloop thither, as foon as flie could be fit- ted for the fea, in order to examine all its bays and creeks, that we might be fatisfied whether any of our miffing fhips were there or not. For this purpofe, fome of our belt hands were fent on board the Fryal the next morning, to overhale and fix her rigging j and our long boat was employed in compleating her water ; and what- ever ftores and necefiaries fhe wanted, were immediately fupplied, either from the Centurion or the Gkucefer. But it was the 4th of Augufl before the Tryal was in readinefs to fail, when having weighed, it foon .after fell calm, and the tide fet her very near the eaftern ( 1 35 ) eaftefn fhore : Captain Satindeh hung our lights, and firedfeveral guns to acquaint us with his danger; upon which all the boats were ffent to his relief, who towed the Sloop into the bay ; where fhe anchored until the next morning, and then weighing again, proceeded on her cruize with a fair breeze. And now, after the Gkucefter’s arrival, we were employed in earneft in examining and repairing our rigging ; but in the {tripping our foremaft, we were alarmed by difcovering it was fprung juft above the partners of the upper deck. The fpring was two inches in depth, and twelve in circumference ; however^ the Carpenters on infpe< 5 ting it, gave it as their opinion, that fifhing it with two leaves of an anchor-ftock, would render it as fecure as ever. But, be- fides this defeat in our maft, we had other difficulties in refitting, from the want of cordage and canvas ; for though we had taken to fea much greater quantities of both, than had ever been done before,, yet the continued bad weather we met with, had occafioned fuch a confumption of thefe ftores, that we were driven to great ftraits t As after working up all our junk and old fhrouds, to make twice- laid cordage, we were at laft obliged to unlay a cable to work into running rigging. And with all the canvas, and remnants of old fails that could be muftered, we could only make up one compleat fuit. Towards the middle of Auguft our men being indifferently reco- vered, they were permitted to quit their fick tents, and to build feparate huts for themfelves, as it was imagined, that by living apart, they would be much cleanlier, and confequently likely to recover their ftrength the fooner ; but at the fame time particular orders were given, that on the firing of a gun from the fhip, they fhould inftantly repair to the water-fide. Their employment on fhore was now either the procuring of refrefhments, the cutting of wood, or the making of oil from the blubber of the fea-lions. This oil ferved us for feveral purpofes, as burning in lamps, or mixing with pitch to pay the fhips fides, or, when worked up with wood-afhes, to fupply the ufe of tallow (of which we had none left) to give the fhip boot-hofe tops. Some of the men too were occupied in faking of 4 cod 3 ( i3 6 ) cod j for there being two Newfoundland fifhermen in the Centurion , the Commodore fet them about laying in a confiderable quantity of falted cod for a fea-ftore > though very little of it was ufed, as it was afterwards thought to be as productive of the fcurvy, as any other kind of fait provifions. I have before-mentioned, that we had a copper-oven on fhore to bake bread for the fick ; but it happened that the greateft part of the flower, for the ufe of the fquadron, was embarked on board our Victualler the Anna Pink : And I fhoiild have mentioned, that the Pryal Sloop, at her arrival, had informed us, that on the 9th of May fhe had fallen in with our Victualler, not far diftant from the Continent of Ckili ; and had kept company* with her for four days, when they were parted in a hard gale of wind. This afforded us fome room to hope that fine was fafe, and that fhe might join us ; but all June and July being paft without any news of her, we then gave her over for loft ; and at the end of July the Commodore ordered all the fhips to a fhort allowance of bread. Nor was it in our bread only, that we feared a deficiency ; for fince our arrival at this Ifland, we difcovered that our former Purfer had negleCted to take on board large quantities of feveral kinds of provifions, which the Commodore had exprefsly ordered him to receive ; fo that the fuppofed lofs of our Victualler, was on all accounts a mortifying conJideration. However, on Sunday, the 16th of Augufl , about noon, we efpied a fail in the northern quarter, and a gun was im- mediately fired from the Centurion , to call off the people from fhore ; who readily obeyed the fummons, repairing to the beach, where the boats waited to carry them on board. And being now prepared for the reception of this fhip in view, whether friend or ene- my, we had various fpeculations about her ; at firft, many imagined it to be the * 7 ; ryal Sloop returned from her cruize ; tho’ as fhe drew nearer, this opinion was confuted, by obferving fhe was a veffel with three mafts. Then other conjectures were eagerly canvaffed, fome judging it to be the Severn , others the Pearl , and feveral affirm- ing that it did not belong to our fquadron : But about three in the 4 afternoon (.137 ) afternoon our difputes were ended, by an unanimous perfuafion that it was our Vi&ualler the Anna Fink . This fhip, though, like the Gloucejter , (he had fallen in to die northward of the Illand, had yet the good fortune to come to an anchor in the bay, at five in the afternoon. Her arrival gave us all the fincerefi: joy ; for each (hip’s company was immediately reftored tot their full allowance of bread, and we were now freed from the apprehenfions of our provifions falling fhort, before we could reach fome amicable port ; a calami- ty, which in thefe feas is of all others the mod irretrievable. This was the lafh fhip that joined us ; and the dangers fhe encountered, and the good fortune which fhe afterwards met with, being matters worthy of a feparate narration, I fhall refer them, together with a fhort account of the other miffing fhips -of the fquadron, to the- enfuing chapter. C H A T ( * 3 8 ) CHAP. nr. A fbort narrative of what befel the Anna Pink before (lie joined us, with an account of the lois of the TVager , and of the putting back of the Severn and Pearl , the two remaining {hips of the fquadron. O N the firft appearance of the Anna "Pink, it feemed won- derful to us how the crew of a vefiel, which came to this rendezous two months after us, fhould be capable of working their fhip in the manner they did, with fo little appearance of debility and diftrefs : But this difficulty was foon folved when fhe came to an anchor - y for we then found that they had been in harbour fince the middle of May , which was near a month before we arrived at Juan Fernandes : So that their fufferings (the rifque they had run of fhipwreck only excepted) were greatly fhort oB what had been undergone by the reft of the fquadron. It feems, on the i 6th of May , they fell in with the land, which was then but four leagues diftant, in the latitude of 45 0 : 1 5' South. On the firft fight of it they wore fhip and ftood to the fouthward, but their fore- topfail fplitting, and the wind being W. S. W, they drove towards the fhore ; and the Captain at laft, either unable to clear the land $ or, as others fay, refolved to keep the fea no longer, fteered for the coaft, with a view of difcovering fome fhelter amongft the many Hands which then appeared in light : And about four hours after the firft view of the land, the Fink had the good fortune to come to an anchor, to the eaftward of the Ifland of Inchin but as they did not run fufficiently near to the Eaft-ftiore of that Hand, and had not hands enough to veer away the cable brilkly, they were foon driven to the eaftward, deepning their water from twenty-five fa- thom to thirty-five, and ftill continuing to drive, they., the next day, i the ( >39 ) the 17th of May^ let go their fheet-anchor. This, though it brought them up for a fhort time, yet, on the 18th, they drove again, till they came into fixty-five fathom water, and were now .within a mile of the land, and expedted to be forced on fhore every moment, in a place where the coad was fo very high and deep to, that there was not the lead; profpedt of faving the fhip or cargo : As their boats were very leaky, and there was no appearance of a landing-place, the whole crew, confiding of fixteen men and boys, gave t-hemfelves over for lod, apprehending, that if any of them by fome extraordinary chance fhould get on fhore, they would, in all probability, be maffacred by the Savages on the coad : For thefe, knowing no other Europeans but Spaniards , it might be expected they would treat all drangers with the fame cruelty which they had fo often and fo fignally exerted againd their Spanijh neighbours. Under thefe terrifying circumdances the Pink drove nearer and nearer to the rocks which formed the fhore ; but at lad, when the crew expedted each indant to drike, they per- ceived a fmall opening in the land, which raifed their hopes'; and immediately cutting away their two anchors, they deered for it, and found it to be a fmall channel betwixt an Ifland and the Main, that led them into a mod excellent harbour, which, for its fecurity againd all winds and fwells, and the fmoothnefs of its water, may perhaps compare with any in the known world. And this place being fcarcely two miles didant from the fpot where they deemed their dedrudtion inevitable, the horrors of fhipwreck and of immediate death, which had fo long, and fo drongly pof- fefled them, vanidied almod indantaneoufly, and gave place to the more joyous ideas of fecurity, refrediment and repofe. In this harbour, difeovered in this almod miraculous manner, the Pink came to an anchor in twenty-five fathom water, with only a hawfer, and a fmall anchor of about three hundred weight. Here fhe continued for near two months, and here her people, who were many of them ill of the feurvy, were foon redored to perfect health by the frefh provifions, of which they procured good T 2 dore,. ( 140 ) ttore, and the excellent water with which the adjacent (hoire abounded. As this place may prove of the greateft importance to future Navigators, who may be forced upon this coatt by the weflerly winds, which are almott perpetual in that part of the world, I (hall, before I enter into any farther particulars of the adventures of the Pink, give the belt account I could colled; of this Port, its fituation, conveniences and productions. To facilitate the knowledge of this place to thofe who may here- after be defirous of making ufe of it, there is annexed a plan both of the harbour itfelf, and of the large bay before it, through which the Pink drove. This plan is not perhaps in all refpeCts fo accurate as might be wifhed, it being compofed from the memoran- dums and rude Iketches of the Matter and Surgeon, who were not, I prefume, the ablett draughts-men. Butas the principal parts were laid down by their ettimated diftances from each other, in which hind of eftimations it is well known the greateft part of failors are very dextrous, I fuppofe the errors are not very conflderable. Its latitude, which is indeed a material point, is not well afcertained, the Pink having no obfervation either the day before the came here, or within a day of her leaving it : But it is fuppofed that it is not very dittant from 45° 30' South, and the large extent of the bay before the harbour renders this uncertainty of lefs moment. The Ifland of Inchin lying before the bay, is thought to be one of the Iflands of Chonos , which are mentioned in the Spanijh accounts, as fpreading all along that coaft j and are faid by them to be inhabited by a barbarous people, famous for their hatred of the Spaniards, and for their cruelties to fuch of that Nation as have fallen into their hands : And it is poflible too that the land, on which the harbour itfelf lies, may be another of thofe Iflands, and that the Continent may be confiderably farther to the eaftward. The depths of water in the different parts of the Port, and the channels by which it com- municates with the bay, are fufficiently marked in the plan. But it mutt be remembred, that there are two coves in it where fhips may conveniently heave down, the water being conttantly fmooth : And — Plan of a BaY and HARBOUR on the Coall of CHILI : Difcovered by a Victualler to Commodore Anson's Squadron in the SOUTH SKA, 1741. ■ stretpnj Dip Aq X l H .1X1 I’.tl® 3 S1 ( [ X VI S] siqj A Scale of Miles- /i l dx/ouxib v v : -i nil (0513 XV Rfi 1 ihi: b: ?o ‘ 0 • MC . i;. W'/i Jjrf.1 Jbnc . .it-rt y, :■ i! Mo .sirs isnipr ' ’a i a? * ■ * r> "aguxi ' . r^r 1 . : . - . I ; < ... ■ !•,./. ua mm r, . . '.in ;ig o ' i fo ’"'■Tb M - ■ nobJajYjb ibrft 2srf? l& ^ • / ,tf.n 2 ‘ .. , ’ : - [Hit t •\ : ... , .V sm asvo:?.- - ' - 1 '• ' . * ’ B M . f .iftiQSi u i\ r oi a y. iTii SS-cb i M ha? .i A t; oaoi lb in*, ;.: r> . 1 ■■■’ ;•.>;> iWr*v a...; 1 . ; rtirMo >ib ehtfHvo * ‘ r • 3 - > a s 2<;ni-ol ? { I 4 I ) there are feveral fine runs of excellent frefli water, which fall into the harbour, fome of them fo luckily fituated, that the cafks may be filled in the long-boat with an hofe : The mod; remarkable of thefe is the dream drawn in the N. E. part of the Port. This is a frefh water river, where the Pink's, people got fome few mullets of an excellent flavour} and they were perfuaded that, in a proper feafon (it being winter when they were there) it abound- ed with fifh. The principal refrefhments they met with in this port were greens, as wild celery, nettle-tops, &c. (which after fo long a continuance at fea they devoured with great eagernefs) fliel- flfli, as cockles and mufcles of an extraordinary fize, and extreme- ly delicious ; and good dore of geefe, fliags, and penguins. The climate, though it was the depth of winter, was not remarkably rigorous ; nor the trees, and the face of the country deditute of verdure ; whence in the dimmer many other fpecies of frefh provi- fion, befides thefe here enumerated, might doubtlefs be found there. Notwithdanding the tales of the Spanijh Hidorians, in relation to the violence and barbarity of the inhabitants, it doth not appear that their numbers are diffident to give the lead jealoufy to any fliip of ordinary force, or that their difpodtion is by any means fo mif- chievous or mercilefs as hath hitherto been reprefented. With all thefe advantages, this place is fo far removed from the Spanijh fron- tier, and fo little known to the Spaniards themfelves, that there is reafon to fuppofe, that by proper precautions a fliip might continue here undifcovered a long time. It is moreover a pod of great defence; for by poflefling the Ifland that clofes up the harbour, and which is accefiible in very few places, a fmall force might fecure this Port againd all the drength the Spaniards could mufler in that part of the world ; lince this Ifland towards the harbour is deep to, and has fix fathom water clofe to the fliore, fo that the Pink anchored within forty yards of it: Whence it is obvious how impoffible it would prove, either to board or to cut out any veflel protected By a force poded on fliore within piflol-fliot, and where thofe who were thus poded could not themfelves be attacked. All thefe cir- 4 cumdances ( *42 ) cumftances feem to render this port worthy of a more accurate ex- amination ; and it is to be hoped, that the important ufes which this rude account of it feems to fuggeft, may hereafter recommend it to the confideration of the Public, and to the attention of thofe who are more immediately entrutted with the conduct of our naval affairs. After this defcription of the place where the Pink lay for two. months, it may be expected that I fhould relate the difcoveries made by the crew on the adjacent coatt, and the principal incidents dir- ring their flay there: But here I mull obferve, that, being only a few in number, they did not dare to detach any of their people on dif- tant fearches ; for they were perpetually terrified with the appre- henfion that they fhould be attacked either by the Spaniards or the Indians y fo that their excurflons were generally confined to that tradt of land which furrounded the Port, and where they were ne- ver out of view of the fhip. Though had they at firft known how little foundation there was for thefe fears, yet the country in the neighbourhood was fo grown up with wood, and traverfed with mountains, that it appeared impracticable to penetrate it : Whence no account of the inland parts could be expe&ed from them. In- deed they were able to difprove the relations given by Spanijb writers, who have reprefented this coaft as inhabited by a fierce and powerful people : For they were certain that no fuch inhabitants were there to be found, at leatt during the winter feafon y fince all the time they continued there, they faw no more than one Indian family, which came into the harbour in a periagua, about a month after the arrival of the Pink, and confifled of an Indian near forty years old, his wife, and two children, one three years of age, and die other ftiil at the breaft. They feemed to have with them all their property, which was a dog, and a cat, a fifhing-net, a hatchet^ a knife, a cradle, fome bark of trees intended for the covering of a hut, a reel, fome worded, a flint and fteel, and a few roots of a yellow hue and a very difagreeable tafte, which ferved them for bread. The Matter of the Pinky as foon as he perceived them. ( »43 ) ffent his yawl, who brought them on board ; and fearing, lead: they might difcover him, if they were permitted to go away, he took, as he conceived, proper precautions for fecuring them, but without any mixture of ill ufage or violence : For in the day-time they were permitted to go where they pleafed about the fhip, but at night were locked up in the fore-caftle. As they Were fed in the fame manner with the reft of the crew, and were often indulged with brandy, which they feemed greatly to relifh, it did not at firft appear that they were much diffatisfied with their fituation, efpeci- ally as the Mafter took the Indian on fhore when he went a (hoot- ing, (who always feemed extremely delighted when theMafter killed his game) and as all the crew treated them with great humanity : But it was foon perceived, that though the woman continued eafy and chearful, yet the man grew penfive and reftlefs at his confine- ment. He feemed to be a perfon of good natural parts, and tho’ not capable of converfing with the Pink's people, otherwife than by figns, was yet very curious and inquifitive, and fhowed great dexterity in the manner of making himfelf underftood. In par- ticular, feeing fo few people on board fuch a large fhip, he let them know, that he fuppofed they were once more numerous : And to reprefent to them what he imagined was become of their com- panions, he laid himfelf down on the deck, clofing his eyes, and ftretching himfelf out motionlefs, to imitate the appearance of a dead body. But the ftrongeft proof of his fagacity was the man- ner of his getting away ; for, after being in cuftody on board the Pink eight days, the fcuttle of the fore-caftle, where he and his family were locked up every night, happened to be unnailed, and the following night being extremely dark and ftormy, he contrived to convey his wife and children through the unnailed fcuttle, and then over the fhip’s fide into the yawl ; and to prevent being pur- fued, he cut away the long-boat and his own periagua, which were towing a-ftern, and immediately rowed afhore. All this he con- duced with fo much diligence and fecrecy, that though there was a watch on the quarter-deck with loaded arms, yet he was not dis- covered. ( 144 ) covered by them, till the noife of his oars in the water, after he had. put off from the (hip, gave them notice of his efcape * and then it was too late either to prevent him, or to purfue him > for, their boats being all a drift, it was a confiderable time before they could; contrive the means of getting on lhore themfelves to fearch for their boats. The Indian too by this effort, befides the recovery of his liberty, was in fome fort revenged on thofe who had confined him, both by the perplexity they were involved in from the lofs of their boats, and by the terror he threw them into at his departure - } for on the firft alarm of the watch, who cried out, the Indians , the whole fhip was in the utmoft confufion, believing themfelves to be boarded by a fleet of armed periagua’s. The refolution and fagacity with which the Indian behaved upon this occafion, had it been exerted on a more extenfive object than the retrieving the freedom of a Angle family, might perhaps have immortalized the exploit, and have given him a rank amongft the illudrious names of antiquity. Indeed his late Mailers did fo much juflice to his merit, as to own that it was a moll gallant enterprize, and that they were grieved they had ever been neceffita- ted, by their attention to their own fa-fety, to abridge the. liberty of a perfon, of whofe prudence and courage they had now fuch a didinguifhed proof. As it was fuppoJfed- by feme of them* that he dill continued in the woods in the neighbourhood of the. port, where it was feared he might differ for want of provifions, they eafily prevailed upon the Mader to, leave a quantity of fuch food, as they thought would be mod agreeable to. him, in z par- ticular part where they imagined he would be likely to find; it: And there was reafon to conjecture, that this piece of humanity was not altogether ufelefs to him j for, on vifiting the place fometime after, it was found that the provifion was gone, and in a manner that made them conclude it had fallen into his hands. But however, though many of them were fatisfied that this Indian dill continued near them ; yet others would needs conclude, that he was gone to. the Ifland of Chiloe . , where they feared he would < r 4S ) would alarm the Spaniards, and would Soon return with a force fufficient to furprize the Pink : On this occasion the Mailer of the Pink was prevailed on to omit firing the evening gun ; for it muft be remembered, (and there is a particular reafon hereafter for attending to this circumftance) that the Mafler, from an oflentatious imitation of the practice of men of war, had hitherto fired a gun every evening at the fetting of the watch. This he pretended was to awe the enemy, if there was any within hearing, and to con- vince them that the Pink was always on her guard j but it being now reprefented to him, that his great fecurity was - his conceal- ment, and that the evening gun might poffibly difcover him, and ferve to guide the enemy to him, he was prevailed on to omit it for the future : And his crew being now well refrefhed, and their wood and water fufficiently replenished, he, in a few days after the efcape of the Indian , put to fea, and had a fortunate paffage to the rendezvous at the Ifland of yuan Fernandes, where he arrived on the 1 6th of Augufc, as hath been already mentioned in the preceding chapter. This veffel, the Anna Pink, was, as I have obferved, the laft that joined the Commodore at yuan Fernandes. The remaining Ships of the Squadron were the Severn, the Pearl, and the Wager Store-Ship : -The Severn and Pearl parted company with the Squa- dron off Cape Noir, and, as we afterwards learnt, put back to the Brazils So, that of all the Ships which came into the South-Seas, the V/ager, Captain Cheap, was the only one that was miffing. This Ship had on board a few field-pieces mounted for land-fervice, together with Some coehorn mortars, and Several kinds of artillery Stores, and pioneers tools, intended for the operations on Shore,: Therefore, as- the enterprize on Baldivia had been refolved on for the firfl undertaking, of the Squadron, Captain Cheap was extremely Solicitous that theSe materials, which were in his cuftody, might be ready before Baldivia 5 that if the Squadron Should poffibly ren- dezvous there, (as he knew not the. condition they were then re- duced to) no delay nor disappointment might be imputed to him. U But ( j 46 ) But whilft the Wager , with thefe views, was making the bed: of her way to her firffc rendezvous off the Idand of Socoro , whence (as there was little probability of meeting any of the fquadron there) die propofed to deer diredtly for Baldzvia, the made the land on the 14th of May, about the latitude of 47° South y and, the Captain exerting himfelf on this occafion, in order to get clear of it, he had the misfortune to fall down the after-ladder, and didocated his {boulder, which rendered him incapable of ailing. This accident, together with the crazy condition of the {hip, which was little better than a wreck, prevented her from getting off to fea, and entangled her more and more with the land ; infomuch that the next morning, ait day-break, {lie {truck on a funken rock, and foon after bilged, and grounded between two fmall Idands, at about a mufquet-diot from the diore. In this fituation the diip continued entire a long time, fo that all the crew had it in their power to get fafe on diore j but a general confufion taking place, numbers of them, inftead of confulting their fafety, or rededling on their calamitous condition, fell to pillaging the diip, arming themfelves with the firft weapons that came to hand, and threatning to murder all who fhould oppofe them. This frenzy was greatly heightned by the liquors they found on board, with which they got fo extremely drunk, that fome of them falling down between decks, were drowned, as the water dowed into the wreck, being incapable of railing themlelves up and retreat- ing from it. The Captain therefore having done his utmoft to get the whole crew on diore, was at lad: obliged to leave the mutineers behind him, and to follow his officers, and fuch as he had been able to prevail on ; but he did not fail to fend back the boats, to perfuade thofe who remained, to have fome regard to their pre- fervation ; though all his efforts were for fome time without fuc- cefs. However, the weather next day proving ftormy, and there being great danger of the {hip’s parting, they began to be alarmed with the fears of peridiing, and were dedrous of getting to land 3 but it feems their madnefs had not yet left them, for the boat not ( *47 ) not appearing to fetch them off fo foon as they expected, they at laft pointed a four-pounder, which was on the quarter-deck, againft the hut, where they knew the Captain redded on fhore, and fired two fhot, which paffed but juft over it. From this fpecimen of the behaviour of part of the crew, it will not be difficult to frame fome conjecture of the diforder and anarchy which took place, when they at laft got all on ftiore. For the men conceived, that by the lofs of the fhip, the authority of the officers was at an end j and, they being now on a defolate coaft, where fcarcely any other provifions could be got, except what ftiould be faved out of the wreck, this was another infiir- mountable fource of difcord : Since the working upon the wreck, and the fecuring the provifions, fo that they might be preferved for future exigencies as much as poffible, and the taking care that what was neceffary for their prefent fubfiftence might be fparingly and equally diftributed, were matters not to be brought about but by difcipline and fubordination : And the mutinous difpofition of the people, ftimulated by the impulfes of immediate hunger, rendered every regulation made for this purpofe ineffectual : So that there were continual concealments, frauds and thefts, which animated each man againft his fellow, and produced infinite feuds and con- tefts. And hence there was a perverfe and malevolent difpofition conftantly kept up amongft them, which rendered them utterly ungovernable. Befides thefe heart-burnings occafioned by petulance and hunger, there was another important point, which fet the greateft part of the people at variance with the Captain. This was their differing with him in opinion, on the meafures to be purfued in the prefent exigency : For the Captain was determined, if poffible, to fit up the boats in the beft manner he could, and to proceed with them to the northward. Since having with him above an hundred men in health, and having gotten fome fire-arms and ammunition from the wreck, he did not doubt but they could mafter any Spanijh yefifel they ihould encounter with in thofe feas : And he thought he U 2 could ( 148 ) could not fail of meeting with one in the neighbourhood of Cbiloe or Baldwin, in which, when he had taken her, he intended to proceed to the rendezvous at 'Juan Fernandes ; and he farther in- filled, that Ihould they light on no prize by the way, yet the boats alone would eafily carry them thither. But this was a fcheme that, however prudent, was no ways relifhed by the generality of his people ; for, being quite jaded with the diftrefies- and dangers they had already run through, they could not think of profecuting an enterprize farther, which had hitherto proved fo difaftrous. The common refolution therefore was to lengthen the long-boat, and with that and the reft of the boats to fteer to the fouthward, to pafs through the Streights of Magellan , and to range along the Eaft fide of South America , till they Ihould arrive at Brazil , where they doubted not to be well received, and to procure a paffage to Great- Britain. This project was at nrft fight infinitely more hazardous and tedious than what was propofed by the Captain ; but as it had the air of returning home, and flattered them with the hopes of bringing them once more to their native country, that circumftance alone rendered them inattentive to all its inconveniencies, and made them adhere to it with infurmountable obftinacy fo that the Cap- tain himfelf, though he never changed his opinion, was yet obliged to give way to the torrent, and in appearance to acquiefce in this refolution, whilft he endeavoured under-hand to give it all the ob- ftrudtion he could ; particularly in the lengthning of the long-boat, which he contrived fiiould be of fuch a ftze, that though it might ferve to carry them to Juan Fernandes , would yet, he hoped, appear incapable of fo long a navigation, as that to the coaft of Brazil. But the Captain, by his fteady oppofition at firft to this favourite project, had much embittered the people againft him 3 to which likewife the following unhappy accident greatly contributed. There was a Midfhipman whofe name was Cozens , who had appeared the foremoft in all the refractory proceedings of the crew. He had in- volved himfelf in brawls v/ith moft of the officers who had ad- hered to the Captain’s authority, and had even treated the Captain himfelf ( i+9 ) himfelf with great abufe and infolence. As his turbulence and bru- tality grew every day more and more intolerable, it was not in the lead: doubted, but there were fome violent meafures in agitation, in which Cozens was engaged as the ringleader : For which reafon the Captain, and thofe about him, conftantly kept themfelves on their guard. One day the Purfer, having, by the Captain’s order, flop- ped the allowance of a fellow who would not work, Cozens , though the man did not complain to him, intermedled in the affair with great bitternefs ; and groffly infulted the Purfer, who was then de- livering out provifions juft by the Captain’s tent, and was himfelf fufficiently violent : The Purfer, enraged by his fcurrility, and per- haps piqued by former quarrels, cried out a mutiny, adding, the dog has pistols, and then himfelf fired a piftol at Cozens, which however mift him : But the Captain, on this outcry and the report of the piftol, rufhed out of his tent; and, not doubting but it had been fired by Cozens as the commencement of a mutiny, he immediately fhot him in the head without farther deliberation, and though he did not kill him on the lpot, yet the wound proved mortal, and he died about fourteen days after. However this incident, tho’ fufficiently difpleafing to the people, did yet, for a confiderable time, awe them to their duty, and ren- dered them more fubmiffive to the Captain’s authority; but at laft, when towards the middle of October the long-boat was nearly corn- pleated, and they were preparing to put to fea, the additional pro- vocation he gave them by covertly traverfing their project of pro- ceeding through the Streights of Magellan , and their fears that he might at length engage a party fufficient to overturn this favourite meafure, made them refolve to make ufe of the death of Cozens as a reafon for depriving him of his command, under pretence of car- rying him a prifoner to England , to be tried for murder ; and he was accordingly confined under a guard. But they never intended to carry him with them, as they too well knew what they had to apprehend on their return to England, if their Commander fhould be ( * 5 ° ) - be prefent to confront them : And therefore, when they were juft ready to put to fea, they fet him at liberty, leaving him and the few who chofe to take their fortunes with him, no other embarkation but the yawl, to which the barge was afterwards added, by the people on board her being prevailed on to return back. When the Ihip was wreckt, there were alive on board the Wager near an hundred and thirty perfons ; of thefe above thirty died during their ftay upon the place, and near eighty went off in the long boat and the Cutter to the fouthward : So that there re- mained with the Captain, after their departure, no more than nine- teen perfons, which however were as many as the barge and the yawl, the only embarkations left them, could well carry off. It was the 13 th of Odlcber , live months after the fhipwreck, that' the long-boat, converted into a fchooner, weighed, and ftood to the fouthward, giving the Captain, who, with Lieutenant Hamilton of the land-forces, and the furgeon were then on the beach, three cheers at their departure : And on the 29th of January following they ar- rived at Rio Grande , on the coaft of Brazil : But having, by va- rious accidents, left about twenty of their people on Ihore at the different places they touched at, and a greater number having pe- rilhed by hunger during the courfe of their navigation, there were no more than thirty of them remaining, when they arrived in that Port. Indeed, the undertaking of itfelf was a moft extraordinary one ; for (not to mention the length of the run) the veflel was fcarce- ly able to contain the number that firft put to fea in her; and their flock of provilions (being only what they had faved out of the fhip) was extremely {lender : They had this additional misfortune be- fides, that the Cutter, the only boat they had with them, foon broke away from the Hern, and was llaved to pieces ; fo that when their provilion and their water failed them, they had frequently no means of getting on Ihore to fearch for a frefh fupply. After the long-boat and Cutter were gone, the Captain, and thofe who were left with him, propofed to pafs to the north- 1 ward ( 1 5 1 ) ward in the barge and yawl : But the weather was fo bad, and the difficulty of fubfi fling fo great, that it was two months from the departure of the long-boat before he was able to put to fea. It feems, the place, where the Wager was call away, was not a part of the Continent, as was firfl imagined, but an Bland at fome diflance from the Main, which afforded no other forts of provision but fhelfifh and a few herbs ; and as the greatefl part of what they had gotten from the fhip was carried off in the long-boat, the Captain and his people were often in extreme want of food, efpecially as they chofe to preferve, what little fea-provifions remained, for their flore when they fhould go to the northward. During their refidence at this Bland, which was by the feamen denominated Wager's JJIand , they had now and then a draggling canoe or two of Indians , which came and bartered' their fifh and other provifions with our people. This was fome little relief to their neceffities, and at another feafon might perhaps have been greater ; for as there were feveral Indian huts on the fhore, it was fuppofed that in fome years, during the height of fummer, many of thefe favages might refort thither to fifh: Indeed from what has been related in the account of the Anna Pink, it fhould feem to be the general practice of thofe Indians to frequent this coafl in the fummer time for the benefit of fifhing, and to retire in the winter into a better climate, more to the" northward. On this mention of the Anna Pink , I cannot but obferve., how much it is to be lamented, that the Wager's people had no knowledge of her being fo near them on the coafl ; for as fhe was not above thirty leagues diflan t from them, and came into their neighbourhood about the fame time the W ager was loft, and was a fine roomy fhip, fhe could eafily have taken them all on board, and' have carried them to ‘Juan Fernandes. Indeed, I fufpedl fhe was ftill nearer to them than what is here eflimated; for feveral of the Wager' s people, at different times, heard the report of a cannon, which I conceive could be no other than the evening gun fired from* the: ( 152 ) the Anna Pink, efpecially as what was heard at Wager's JJland was about the fame time of the day. But to return to Captain Cheap. Upon the 1 4th of December , the Captain and his people embark- ed in the barge and the yawl, in order to proceed to the northward, taking on board with them all the provifions they could amafs from the wreck of the fhip 5 but they had fcarcely been an hour at fea, when the wind began to blow hard, and the fea ran fo high, that they were obliged to throw the greated part of their provilions over-board, to avoid immediate dedrudtion. This was a terrible misfortune, in a part of the world where food is fo difficult to be got : However, they perfided in their defign, putting on fhore as often as they could to feek fubffilance. But about a fort- night after, another dreadful accident befel them, for the yawl funk at an anchor, and one of the men in her was drowned; and as the barge was incapable of carrying the whole company, they were now reduced to the hard neceffity of leaving four marines behind them on that defolate fhore. Notwithdanding thefe difaders they dill kept on their courfe to the northward j though greatly delayed by the perverfenefs of the winds, and the frequent interruptions which their fearch after food occafioned, and condantly draggling with a feries of the mod finider events : Till at lad, about the end of January, having made three unfuccefsful attempts to double a head-land, which they fuppofed to be what the Spaniards called Cape Tra Montes, it was unanimoudy refolved, finding the diffi- culties infurmountable, to give over this expedition, and to return again to Wager If.and, where they got back about the middle of February, quite didieartned and dejected with their reiterated disappointments, and almod perifhing with hunger and fatigue. However, on their return they had the good luck to meet with feveral pieces of beef, which had been wadaed out of the wreck and were fwimming in the fea. This was a mod feafonable relief to them after the hardffiips they had endured : And to compleat their good fortune, there came, in a fhort time, two canoes of Indians, 4, amongd ( *53 ) amongft which was a native of Chiloe y who fpoke a little Spant/b j and the furgeon, who was with Captain Cheap , underftanding that language, he made a bargain with the Indian , that if he would car- ry the Captain and his people to Chiloe in the barge, he ffiould have her, and all that belonged to her for his pains. Accordingly, on the 6th of March , the eleven perfons to which the company was now reduced, embarked in the barge on this new expedition ; but after having proceeded for a few days, the Captain and four of his principal officers being on ffiore, the fix, who together with an In- dian remained in the barge, put off with her to fea, and did not return again. By this means there were left on ffiore Captain Cheap y Mr. Ha- milton Lieutenant of marines, the Honourable Mr. Byron and Mr. Campbell Midffiipmen, and Mr. Elliot the furgeon. One would have thought that their diftreffes had long before this time been in- capable of augmentation ; but they found, on reflection, that their prefent fituation was much more difmaying than any thing they had yet gone through, being left on a defolate coaft without any pro- vifion, or the means of procuring any; for their arms, ammunition, and every conveniency they were mafters of, except the tattered ha- bits they had on, were all carried away in the barge. But when they had fufficiently revolved in their own minds the various circumftances of this unexpected calamity, and were per- fuaded that they had no relief to hope for ; they perceived a canoe at a diftance, which proved to be that of the Indian , who had un- dertaken to carry them to Chiloe , he and his family being then on board it. He made no difficulty of coming to them ; for it feems he had left Captain Cheap and his people a little before to go a f fil- ing, and had in the mean time committed them to the care of the other Indian , whom the failors had carried to fea in the barge. When he came on ffiore, and found the barge gone and his compa- nion miffing, he was extremely concerned, and could with difficulty be perfuaded that the other Indian was not murthered; yet being X at i x 54 ) at laft fatisfied with the account that was given him, he ftill under- took to carry them to the Spanijh fettlements, and (as the Indians are well /killed in ffihing and fowling) to procure them provifions by the way. About the middle of March, Captain Cheap and the four who were left with him fet out for Chiloe, the Indian having provided a number of canoes, and gotten many of his neighbours together for that purpofe. Soon after they embarked, Mr. Elliot the fur- geon died, fo that there now remained only four of the whole com- pany. At laft, after, a very complicated paftage by land and wa- ter, Captain Cheap, Mr. Byron, and Mr. Campbel, arrived in the beginning of "June at the Ifland of Chiloe, where they were re- ceived by the Spaniards with great humanity j but, on account of fome quarrel among the Indians, Mr. Hamilton did not get thither till two months later. Thus, was it above a twelvemonth from the lofs of the V/ager, before this fatiguing peregrination ended : And not till by a variety of misfortunes the company was diminifhed from twenty to no more than four, and thofe too brought fo low, that, had their diftreftes continued but a few days longer, in all pro- bability none of them would have furvived. For the Captain him- feif was with difficulty recovered ; and the reft were fo reduced by the feverity of the weather, their labour, and their want of food, and of all kinds of necelfaries, that it was wonderful how they fupported themfelves fo long. After fome ftay at Chiloe , the Captain and the three who were with him were fent to Valparaifo , and thence to St. Jago, the Capital of Chili, where they continued above a year : But on the advice of a cartel being fettled betwixt Great-Britain and Spain, Captain Cheap, Mr. Byron, and Mr. Hamilton , were permitted to return to Europe on board a French fhip. The other Midfhipman, Mr. Campbel, having changed his religion, whilft at St. Jago, chofe to go back to Buenos Ayres with Pi - zarro and his officers, with whom he went afterwards to Spain on board the Afia j but having there having failed in his endeavours to procure ( 155 ) procure a commiffion from the Court of Spain t he returned to England , and attempted to get reinflated in the Britijh Navy. He has lince published a narration of his adventures, in which he complains of the injuflice that had been done him, and flrongly difavows his ever being in the Spanijh fervice: But as the change of his religion, and his offering himfelf to the Court of Spain , (though he was not accepted) are matters which, he is confcious, are capable of being inconteflably proved j on thefe two heads, he has been entirely filent. And now, after this account of the acci- dents which befel the Anna Pink , and the cataflrophe of the Wager , I fhall again refume the thread of our own flory. X 2 CHAP, ( X J6 ) CHAP. IV. Conclufion of our proceedings at Juan Fernandes , from the arrival of the Anna Pink, to our final de- parture from thence. A BOUT a week after the arrival of our Victualler, the Fryal Sloop, that had been fent to the Ifland of Mafa- Fuero , returned to an anchor at 'Juan Fernandes , having been round that Ifland, without meeting any part of our fqua- dron. As, upon this occafion, the Ifland of Mafa-Fuero was more particularly examined, than I dare fay it had ever been before, or perhaps ever will be again ; and as the knowledge of it may, in certain circumftances, be of great confequence hereafter, I think it incumbent on me to infert the accounts given of this place, by the officers of the Fryal Sloop. The Spaniards have generally mentioned two Iflands, under the name of Juan Fernandes , Ailing them the greater and the lefs : The greater being that Ifland where we anchored, and the lefs be- ing the Ifland we are now defcribing, which, becaufe it is more diftant from the Continent, they have diftinguifhed by the name of Mafa-Fuero. The Tryal Sloop found that it bore from the greater Juan Fernandes W. by S, and was about twenty-two leagues diftant. It is a much larger and better fpot than has been generally reported ; for former writers have reprefented it as a fmall barren rock, deftitute of wood and water, and altogether inacceflible j whereas our people found it was covered with trees, and that there were feveral line falls of water pouring down its fides into the fea : They found too, that there was a place where a fhip might come to an anchor on the North ftde of it, though indeed the anchorage is inconvenient 3 for the bank extends but a little way, is fteep to, and 4 has %.'■ k " *, ■’V' . «S ■ 1 ! V- '-i PfacsXKn. ( *57 ) has very deep water upon it, fo that you muft come to an anchor ve'ry near the fhore, and there lie expofed to all the winds but a foutherl^ one : And befides the inconvenience of the anchorage, there is alfo a reef of rocks running off the eaftern point of the Ifland, about two miles in length ; though there is little danger to be feared from them, becaufe they are always to he feen by the feas breaking oyer them. This place has at prefent one advantage beyond the Ifland of Juan Fernandes for it abounds with goats, who, not being accuftomed to be diflurbed, were no ways fhy or apprehenfive ■of danger, till they had been frequently fired at. Thefe animals refide here in great tranquillity, the Spaniards having not thought the Ifland confiderable enough to be frequented by their enemies, and have not therefore been felicitous to deftroy the provifions upon itj fo that no dogs have been hitherto fet on fhore there, Befides the goats, our people found there vail numbers of feals and fea-lions : And upon the whole, they feemed to imagine, that though it was not the rnoft eligible place for a fhip to refresh at ; yet, in cafe of necefiity, it might afford fome fort of flicker, and prove of confiderable ufe, efpecially to a Angle fhip, who might apprehend meeting with a fuperior force at Fernandes . The appearance of its N. E-. fide, and alfo of its Weft fide, may be feen in the two annnexed plates. This may fuffice in relation to the Ifland of Mafa^Fuero. The latter part of the month of Attguji was fpent in unloading the provifions from the Anna Fink } when we had the morti- fication to find that great quantities of our provifions, as bread, rice, groats, &c. were decayed, and unfit for ufe. This was owing to the water the Pink had made by her working and ftrain* ing in bad weather j for hereby feveral of her cafks had rotted, and her bags were foaked through. And now, as we had no far- ther occafion for her fervice, the Commodore, purfuant to his orders from the board of Admiralty, fent notice to Mr. Gerard , her Maker, that he difeharged the Anna Pink from attending the fquadron } and gave him, at the fame time, a certificate fpecifying how ( 158 ) how long fhe had been employed. In confequence of this difmif- fion, her Matter was at liberty, either to return diredtly to England , or to make the bett of his way to any Port, where he thought he could take in fuch a cargoe, as would anfwer the intereft of his Owners. But the Matter, being fenfible of the bad condition of the fhip, and of her unfitnefs for any fuch voyage, wrote the next day an anfwer to the Commodore’s meffage, acquainting Mr. Anfon , that from the great quantity of water the Pink had made in her palfage round Cape Horn, and fince that, in the tempeftuous wea- ther fhe had met with on the coaft of Chili , he had reafon to ap- prehend that her bottom was very much decayed : He added, that her upper works were rotten abaft ; that fhe was extremely leaky ; that her fore-beam was broke; and that, in his opinion, it was impottible to proceed to fea with her before fhe had been thorough- ly refitted : And he therefore requefted the Commodore, that the Carpenters of the fquadron might be directed to furvey her, that their judgment of her condition might be known. In compliance with this defire, Mr. Anfon immediately ordered the Carpenters to take a careful and ftridt furvey of the Anna Pink , and to give him a faithful report under their hands of the condition in which they found her, directing them at the fame time to proceed herein with fuch circumfpedtion, that, if they fhould be hereafter called upon, they might be able to make oath of the veracity of their proceed- ings. Purfuant to thefe orders, the Carpenters immediately fet about the examination, and the next day made their report ; which was, that the Pink had no lefs than fourteen knees and twelve beams broken and decayed ; that one breaft-hook was broken, and another rotten ; that her water-ways were open and decayed ; that two ftandards and feveral clamps were broken, befides others which were rotten ; that all her iron-work was greatly decayed ; that her fpirkiting and timbers were very rotten ; and that, having ripped off part of her fhcathing, they found her wales and outfide planks extremely defective, and her bows and decks very leaky; and in confequence of thefe defeats and decays they certified, that I in ( *59 ) in their opinion fhe could not depart from the Ifland without great hazard, unlefs the was firft of all thoroughly refitted. The thorough refitting of the Anna Vink , propofed by the Car- penters was, in our prefent fituation, impofiible to be complied with, as all the plank and iron in the fquadron was infufficient for that purpofe. And now the Matter finding his own fentiments con- firmed by the opinion of all the Carpenters, he offered a petition to the Commodore in behalf of his Owners, defiring that, fince it ap- peared he was incapable of leaving the Ifland, Mr. Anfon would pleafe to purchafe the hull and furniture of the Pink for the ufe of the fquadron. Hereupon the Commodore ordered an inventory to be taken of every particular belonging to the Pink , with its juft value : And as by this inventory it appeared, that there were many ftores which would be ufeful in refitting the other ftiips, and which were at prefent very fcarce in the fquadron, by reafon of the great quantities that had been already expended, he agreed with Mr. Ger- ard to purchafe the whole together for 300/. The Pink being thus broken up, Mr. Gerard , with the hands belonging to the Pink , were fent on board the Gloucejler 3 as that fhip had buried the greateft number of men, in proportion to her complement. But afterwards, one or two of them were received on board the Centurion , on their own petition, they being extremely averfe to failing in the fame fhip with their old Matter, on account of fome particular ill ufage they conceived they had fluttered from him. This tranfaftion brought us down to the beginning of a September, and our people by this time were fo far recovered of the fcurvy, that there was little danger of burying any more at prefent 3 and therefore I fhall now fum up the total of our lofs fince our departure from England , the better to convey fome idea of our paft fuffer- ings, and of our prefent ftrength. We had buried on board the Centurion , fince our leaving St. Helens , two hundred and ninety-two, and had now remaining on board two hundred and fourteen. This will doubtlefs appear a moft extraordinary mortality : But vet on board the Gloucejler it had been much greater .3 for out of a much fmaller ( i 6o ) fmalier crew than ours they had loft the fame number, and had only eighty-two remaining alive. It might be expected that on board the Try#/, the daughter would have been the moil terrible, as her decks were almoft conftantly knee-deep in water j but it happened otherwife, for ftte efcaped more favourably than the reft, ftnce ftie only buried forty-two, and had now thirty-nine remain- ing alive. The havock of this difeafe had fallen ftill feverer on the invalids and marines than on the failors for on board the Centurion , out of fifty invalids and feventy-nine marines, there remained only four invalids, including officers, and eleven marines- > and on board the Gloucefler every invalid periftied ; and out of forty-eight ma- rines, only two efcaped. From this account it appears, that the three fhips together departed from England with, nine hundred and fixty one men on board, of whom fix hundred and twenty-fix were dead before this time j fo that the whole of our remaining, crews, which were now to be diftributed amongft three fhips, amounted to no more than three hundred and thirty-five men and boys j a number, greatly infufficient for the manning the Centurion alone,, and barely capable of navigating all the three, with the utmoft ex- ertion of their ftrength and vigour. This prodigious reduction of our men was ftill the more terrifying, as we were hitherto uncertain of the fate of Pzzarro’s fquadron, and had reafon to fuppofe, that fome part of it at leaft had got round into thefe feas : Indeed, we were fatisfied from our own experience, that they muft have fuffer- ed greatly in their paflage } but then every port in the South-Seas was open to them, and the whole power of Chili and Peru would doubtlefs be united in refrefhing and refitting them, and recruiting the numbers they had loft. Befides, we had fome obfcure knowledge of a force to be fent out from Callao j and, however contemptible the fhips and failors of this part of the world may have been gene- rally efteemed, it was fcarcely poflible for any thing, bearing the name of a fhip of force, to be feebler or lefs confiderable than our- felves. And had there been nothing to be apprehended from the naval power of the Spaniards in this part of the world, yet our en- feebled ( l6i ) feebled condition would neverthelefs give us the greateft imeafh nefs, as we were incapable of attempting any of their confiderabie places j for the rifqsing of twenty men, weak as we then were, was rifquing the fafety of the whole : So that we conceived we fhould be neceflitated to content ourfelves with what few prizes we could pick up at fea, before we were difcovered •} after which, we iliould in all probability be obliged to depart with precipitation, and efteem -ourfelves fortunate to regain our native country, leaving our enemies to triumph on the inconliderable mifchief they had received from a fquadron, whofe equipment had filled them with fuch dreadful apprehenfions. This was a fubjeCt, on which we had reafon to imagine the SpaniJIs oftentation would remarkably exert itfelf j tho* the caufes of our difappointment and their fecurity were neither to be fought For in their valour nor our mifconduCt. Such were the defponding reflections which at that time arofe on the review and comparifon of our remaining ftrength with our ■original numbers •: Indeed our fears were far from being groundlefs, or difproportioned to our feeble and almofl: defperate fituation : F or though the final event proved more honourable than we had fore- boded j yet the intermediate calamities did likewife greatly furpafs our moil: gloomy apprehenfions, and could they have been pre- dicted to us at this Ifland of 'Juan Fernandes , they would doubtlefs have appeared infurmountable. But to return to our narration. In the beginning of September , as has been already mentioned, our men were tolerably well recovered - y and now, the feafon for navigation in this climate drawing near, we exerted ourfelves in get- ting our fhips in readinefs for the fea. We converted the fore-maft of the Victualler into a rnain-mafl: for the c lryal Sloop ; and fall flattering ourfelves with the poflibility of the arrival of fome other ihips of our fquadron, we intended to leave the main-mafl: of the Victualler, to make a mizen-maft for the Wager. Thus all hands being employed in forwarding our departure, we, on the 8th, about eleven in the morning, efpied a fail to the N. E, which contifitied to approach us, till her courfes appeared even with the Y horizon-. > ( 162 ) horizon. Whilft lire advanced we had great hopes {he might prove one of our own fquadron ; but as at length fhe fteered away to the eafbvard, without haling in for the Ifland, we thence concluded fhe muft be a Spaniard. And' now great difputes were fet on foot about the poffibility of her having difeovered our tents on fhore, fome of us ftrongly infilling-, that fhe had doubtlefs been near enough to, have perceived' fomething that had given her a jealoufy of an enemy, which had occafioned her handing to the eaftward without haling in : However, leaving thefe contefls to be fettled afterwards, it was refolved to purfue her, and, the Centurion being in the greateft for- wardnefs, we immediately got all our hands on board, fet up our rigging, bent our fails, and by five in the afternoon got under fail. We had at this time very little wind, fo that all the boats were employed to tow us out of the bay j and even what wind there was, lafled only long enough to give us an offing of two or three leagues, when it flatted to a calm. The night coming on, we loft fight of the chace, and were extremely impatient for the return of day-light, in hopes to find that fhe had been becalmed as well’ as we ; though I muft confefs, that her greater diftance from the land was a reafonable ground for fufpedting the contrary j as we indeed found in the morning, to our great mortification $ for though the weather continued perfectly clear, we had no fight of the fhip from the maft-head. But as we were now fatisfied that it was an enemy, and the firft we had feen in thefe feas, we refolved not to give over the fearch lightly j and, a fmall breeze fpringing up from the W. N.W, we got up our top-gallant mails and yards, fet all the fails, and fleered to the S. E, in hopes of retrieving our chace, which, we imagined to be bound to Valparaifo. We continued on this courfe all that day and the next, and then, not getting fight of our chace, we gave over the purfuit, conceiving that by that time fhe muft, in all probability, have reached her Port. Being therefore determined to return to Juan Fernandes , we haled up to the S. W. with that view, having but very little wind till the 1 2 th, when, at three in the morning, there fprung up a frefh gale from 4 the ( 163 ) the W. S. W, Uhich obliged us to tack and Hand to the N. W s At day-break we were agreeably furprized with the fight of a fail on our weather-bow, between four and five leagues diftant. We immediately crouded all the fail we could, and flood after her, and foon perceived it not to be the fame fhip we originally gave chaoe to. She at firft bore down upon us, fhowing S 'panijh colours, and making a fignal as to her confort ; but obferving that we did not anfwer her fignal, fhe inftantly loofed clofe to the wind, and flood to the fouthward. Our people were now all in fpirits, and put the fhip about with great brifknefs $ and as the chace appeared to be a large fhip, and had miftaken us for her confort, we conceived that flie was a man of war, and probably one of Pizarro' s fquadron : This induced the Commodore to order all the officers cabins to be knocked down and thrown over-board, with feveral cafks of water and provifions which flood between the guns 5 fo that we had foon a clear fhip, ready for an engagement. About nine o’clock we had thick hazy weather and a fhower of rain, during which we loft fight of the chace ; and we were apprehenfive, if this dark weather fhould continue, that by going upon the other tack, or by fome other artifice, fhe might efcape us ; but it clearing up in lefs than an hour, we found that we had both Weathered and fore-reached upon her confiderably, and were then near enough to difcover that fhe was only a Merchantman, without fo much as a fingle tire of guns. About half an hour after twelve, being got within a reafonable diftance of her, we fired four fhot amongfc her rigging ; on which, . they lowered their top-fails, and bore down to us, but in very great confufion, their top-gallant fails and ftay-fails all flut- tering in the wind : This was owing to their having let run their fheets and halyards juft as we fired at them ; after which, not a man amongft them had courage enough to venture aloft (for there the fhot had palled but juft before) to take them in. As foon as the vefiel came within hale of us, the Commodore ordered them to bring to under his lee-quarter, and then hoifted out the boat, -and fent Mr. Saumarez , his firft Lieutenant., to take pofieffion of the Y 2 prize, ( *«4 ) prize, with directions to fend all the prifoners on board the Centum rion , but firft the officers and paffengers. ' When Mr. Saumarez came on board them, they received him at the fide with the ftrongeft tokens of the moft abjedt fubmiffion ; for they were all of them (efpecially the paffengers, who were twenty-five in number) ex- tremely terrified, and under the greateft apprehenfions of meeting with very fevere and cruel ufage ; but the Lieutenant endeavoured^, with great courtefy, to diffipate their fright, affuring them, that their fears were altogether groundlefs, and that they would find a generous enemy in the Commodore, who was not lefs remarkable for his lenity and humanity, than for his refolution and courage.. .* The prifoners, who, were firft fent on board the Centurion , informed us, that our prize was called Nuejira Senora del Monte Carmelo , and was commanded by Don Manuel Zamorra. Her cargoe con- fifted chiefly of fugar, and great quantities of blue cloth made in the province of Quito, fomewhat refembling our Englijh coarfe broad-cloths, but inferior to them. They had befides feveral bales of a coarfer fort of cloth, of different colours, fomewhat like Col-, chejler, bays, called by them Pannia da ‘Tier r a, with a few bales of cotton, and fome tobacco j which, though ftrong, was not ill fla- voured. Thefe were the principal goods on board her j but we found befides, what was to us much more valuable than the reft of the cargoe : This was fome trunks, of wrought plate, and twenty- three ferons of dollars, each weighing upwards of 200/. averdupois. The fhip’s burthen was about four hundred and fifty tuns ; fhe had fifty-three failors on board, both whites and blacks 5 fhe came from Callao , and had been twenty feven days at fea, before fhe fell into cur hands. She was bound to the port of Valparaifo in the king- dom of Chili, and propofed to have returned from thence loaded with corn and Chili wine, fome gold, dried beef, and fmall cordage, which at Callao they convert into larger rope. Our prize had been built upwards of thirty years ; yet, as they lie in harbour all the winter months, and the climate is favourable, they efteemed it no very great age. Her rigging was very indifferent, as were likewife her ( *6 S ) fails, which were made of Cotton. She had only three four poutio- ders, which were altogether unferviceable, their carriages being fcarcely able to fupport them : And there were no fmall arms on board* except a few piftols belonging to the paflengers. The prifoners informed uS, that they left Callao in company wkh two other fhips, whom they had parted with fome days before, and that at firft they conceived us to be one of their company ; and by the deferip— tion we gave them of the fhip we had chafed from yuan Fernandes H they allured us, fhe was of their number, but that the coming in fight of that Ifland was directly repugnant to the Merchant’s in- ftrudtions,. who had exprefily forbid it, as knowing that if any Englijh fquadron was in thofe feas, the Ifland of Fernandeswas moft probably the place of their rendezvous. After this fhort account of the fhip and her cargoe, it is ne- ceflary that I Ihould relate the important intelligence which we met with on board her, partly from the information of the pri- foners, and partly from the letters and papers which fell into our hands.. We here firft learnt with certainty the force and defti- nation of that fquadron, which cruifed off the Maderas at our ar- rival there, and afterwards chafed the Pearl in our palfage to port St. Julian.. This we now knew was a fquadron compofed of five large Spanijh fhips, commanded by Admiral Pizarro } and purpofely fitted out to traverfoour defigns, as hath been already more amply re- lated in the 3d chapter of the 1 ft book. We had, at the fame time too, the fatisfa&ion to find, that Pizarro , after his utmoft endeavours to gain his paflage into thefe feas, had been forced back again into the river of Plate , with the lofs of two of his largeft fhips : And befides this dilappointment of Pizarro , which, confidering our great debi- lity, was no unacceptable intelligence, we farther learnt, that though an embargo had been kid upon all fhipping in thefe feas by the Vice- roy of PerUy in the month of May preceding, on a fuppofition that about that time we might arrive upon the coaft, yet it now no long- er fubfifted : Eor on the account fent over-land by Pizarro of his own diftrefies, part of which they knew we muft have encountered. ( 1 66 ) Jss we were at fea during the fame time, and on their having no news of us in eight months after we were known to fet fail from St. Ca- therine' s, they were fully fatisfied that we were either fhip-wreck’d, or had perifhed at fea, or at leall had been obliged to put back again; as it was conceived impoflible for any {hips to continue at fea du- ring fo long an interval : And therefore, on the application of the Merchants, and the firm perfuafion of our having mifcarried, the embargo had been lately taken off. This laft article made us flatter ourfelves, that, as the enemy was {fill a firanger to our having got round Cape Horn , and the naviga- tion of thefe feas was reftored, we might meet with fome valu- able captures, and might thereby indemnify ourfelves for the inca- pacity we were under of attempting any of their confiderable fettlements on fiiore. And thus much we were certain of, from the information of our prifoners, that, whatever our fuccefs might be as to the prizes we might light on, we had nothing to fear, weak as we were, from the Spanijh force in this part of the world ; though w r e difcovered that we had been in rnofl imminent peril from the enemy, when we leaf! apprehended it, and when our other diflrefles were at the greatefl: height : for we learnt, from the letters on board, that Pizarro, in the exprefs he difpatched to the Viceroy of Peru, after his return to the river of Plate , had inti- mated to him, that it was poflible fome part at leafl of the Engliflo fquadron might get round; but that, as he was certain from his own experience, that if they did arrive in thofe feas it mull be in a very- weak and defencelefs condition, he advifed the Viceroy, in order to be fecure at all events, to fend what {hips of war he had, to the fouthward, where in all . probability, they would intercept us fingly, before we had an opportunity of touching at any port for refiefiiment ; in which cafe, he doubted not but we fhould prove an eafy conqueft. The Viceroy of Peru approved of this advice : And as he had already fitted out four {hips of force from Callao ; one of -fifty guns, two of forty guns, and one of twenty-four guns, which were intended to join Pizarro, when he arrived on the coafl: pi. Chili : The Viceroynow ftationed three of thefe off thePort of Con- ception, ( l6 7 ) aptlon , and one of them at the Ifland of Fernandes j where they continued cruifing for us till the 6th of ‘June j and then not feeing any thing of us, and conceiving it to be impoffible that we could' have kept the feas fo long, they quitted their cruife and returned to Callao , fully perfuaded that we had either perifhed, or at lead; hacf been driven back. Now as the time of their quitting their Nations was but a few days before our arrival at the Ifland of Fernandes , it is evident, that had we made that Ifland on our fifd fearch for it, without haling in for the main to fecure our eading, (a circumdance, which at that time we confidered as very unfortunate to us, on ac- count of the numbers which we lod by our longer continuance at. fea) had we, I fay, made the Ifland on the 28th of May, when we fird expedted to fee it, and were in reality very near it, we had doubtlefs fallen in with fome part of the Spanifh fquadron j and in the didreffed condition we were then in, the meeting with a healthy well provided enemy, was an incident that could not but have been perplexing, and might perhaps have proved fatal, not only to us, but to the Fryal , the Gloucejler , and the Anna Pink , who fepa- rately joined us, and who were each of them lefs capable than we were of making any conflderable refiftance. I fhall only add, that thefe Spani/h fhips fent out to intercept us, had been greatly fhat- tered by a dorm during their cruife j and that, after their arrival at Callao, they had been laid up. And our prifoners aflured us, that whenever intelligence was received at Lima , of our being in thefe feas, it would be at lead two months before this armament could be again fitted out. The whole of this intelligence was as favourable, as we in our reduced circumdances could wifh for. And now we were no longer at alofs as to the broken jars, afhes, and fifh-bones, which we had obferved at our fird landing at Juan Fernandes, thefe things being doubtlefs the relidts of the cruifer dationed off that Port. Plaving thus fatisfied ourfelves in the material articles of our inquiry, and having gotten on board the Centurion mod of the prifoners, and all the filver, we, at eight in the fame evening, made fail to the north- ward. ( 1 68 ) ward, in company with our prize, and at fix the next morning dik covered the Ifland of Fernandes , where, the following day, both we and our prize came to an anchor. And here I cannot omit one remarkable incident which occurred,, when the prize and her crew came into the bay, where the reft of the fquadron lay. The Spaniards in the Carmelo had been diffid- ently informed of the diftreftes we had gone through, and were greatly furprized that we had ever furmounted them : But when they faw the Tryal Sloop at anchor, they were ftill more aftoniffied, that after all our fatigues we had the induftry (befides refitting our other ffiips) to compleat fuch a veflel in fo ffiort a time, they taking it for granted that we had built her upon the fpot : Nor was it with- out great difficulty they were at laft prevailed on to believe, that ffie came from England with the reft of the fquadron-; they long infifting, that it was impoffible fuch a bawble as that could pafs round Cape Horn , when the beft ffiips of Spain were obliged to put back. By the time we arrived at yuan Fernandes , the letters found on board our prize were more minutely examined : And, it appearing from them, and from the accounts of our prifoners, that feveral other Merchantmen were bound from Callao to Valparaiso , Mr. An- j'on difpatched the Fryal Sloop the very next morning, to cruife off the laft- mentioned Port, reinforcing her with ten hands from on board his own ftiip. Mr. Anfon likewife refolved, on the intelli- gence recited above, to feparate the ffiips under his command, and employ them in diftindt cruifes; as he thought that by this means wc fhould not only encreafe our chance for prizes, but that we ffiould likewife run a lefs rifque of alarming the coaft, and of being difco- vered. And now the fpirits of our people being greatly raifed, and their defpondency diffipated by this earneft of fuccefs, they forgot all their paft diftreftes, and refumed their wonted alacrity, and la- boured indefatigablyin compleating our water, receiving our lumber, and in preparing to take our farewel of the Ifland : But as thefe oc- cupations took us up four or five days with all our induftry, the Commodore, in that interval, directed that the guns belonging to 4 the ( 169 ) the Anna Pink , being four fix pounders, four four pounders, and two fwivels, fhould be mounted on board the Carmelo , our prize : And having fent on board the Gloucefter fix paftengers, and twenty- three feamen to aflift in navigating the fhip, he directed Captain Mitchel to leave the Ifland as foon as poflible, the fervice demand- ing the utmoft difpatch, ordering him to proceed to the latitude of five degrees South, and there to eruife off the highland of Paita , at fuch a difiance from fhore, as fhould prevent his being difcovered. On this ftation he was to continue till he fhould be joined by the Commodore, which would be whenever it fhould be known that the Viceroy had fitted out the fhips at Callao , or, on Mr. Anfon ’ s receiving any other intelligence, that fhould make it neceftary to unite our firength. Thefe orders being delivered to the Captain of the Gloucefter, and all our bufinefs compleated, we, on the Saturday following, being the 19th of September , weighed our anchor, in company with our prize, and. got out of the bay, taking our laft leave of the Ifland of Juan Fernandes , and fleering to the eaftward,' with an intention of joining the Fryal Sloop in her ftation off VaF paraifo. Z C H A P. ( ! 7 ° ) CHAP. V. Our cruife from the time of our leaving *Juan Fer- nandes, to the taking the town of Paita, A LTHOUGH the Centurion , with her prize, the Carmelo , weighed from the bay of Juan Fernandes on the 1 9th of September , leaving the Gloucejier at anchor behind her yet, by the irregularity and fluctuation of the winds in the offing, it was the 2 2d of the fame month, in the evening, before we loft light of the Ifland : After which, we continued our courfe to the eaftward, in order to reach our flat ion, and to join the Fryal off Valparaifo. The next night, the weather proved fqually, and we fplit our maintop-fail, which we handed for the prefen t, but got it repaired, and fet it again the next morning. In the evening, a little before fun-fet, we faw tv/o fail to the eaftward ; on which, our prize flood dire&ly from us, to avoid giving any fufpicion of our being cruifers j whiltl we, in the mean time, made ourfelves ready for an engagement, and fleered with all our canvas towards the two fhips we had difcovered. We foon perceived that one of thefe, which had the appearance of being a very flout fhip, made di- rectly for us, whillt the other kept at a great diflance. By feven o’clock we were within piflol-fhot of the neareft, and had a broad- fide ready to pour into her, the Gunners having their matches in their hands, and only waiting for orders to fire ; but, as we knew it was now impoflible for her to efcape us, Mr. Anfon, before he permitted us to fire, ordered the Mafter to hale the fhip in Spamjh j on which the commanding officer on board her, who proved to be Mr. Hughs 3 Lieutenant of the Fryal, anfwered us in Englijh, and informed us, that fhe was a prize taken by the Fryal a few days before, and that the other fail at a diflance was the Fryal herfelf difabled in her mails. ( 1 7 1 ) rnads. We were foon after joined by the Try a! ■ and Captain Satin* ders , her Commander, came on board the Centurion. He acquainted the Commodore, that he had taken this (hip the 18 th inftant; that ihe was a prime failor, and had coil him thirty-fix hours chace, before he could come up with her j that for fome time he gained fo little upon her, that he began to defpair of taking her ; and the Spaniards , though alarmed at fird with feeing nothing but a cloud of fail in purfuit of them, the Tryal's hull being fo low in the water that no part of it appeared, yet knowing the goodnefs of their fhip, and finding how little the Tryal neared them, they at length laid afide their fears, and recommending themfelves to the blefiedVirgin for protection, began to think themfelves fecure. In- deed their fuccefs was very near doing honour to their A r oe Marias j for, altering their courfe in the night, and fhutting up their win- dows to prevent any of their lights from being feen, they had fome chance of efcaping ; but a fmall crevice in one of the flutters ren- dered all their invocations ineffectual ; for through this crevice the people on board the Tryal perceived a light, which they chafed, till they arrived within gun-fhot ; and then Captain Saunders alarm- ed them unexpectedly with a broadfide, when they flattered them- felves they were got out of his reach : However, for fome time after they fill kept the fame fail abroad, and it was not obferved that this fird falute had made any impreflion on them j but, juft as the Tryal was preparing to repeat her broadfide, the Spaniards crept from their holes, lowered their fails, and fubmitted without any oppofition. She was one of the largeft Merchantmen employed in thofe feas, being about fix hundred tuns burthen, and was called the Arranzazu. She was bound from Callao to Valparaifo , and had much the fame cargoe with the Cannelo we had taken before, except that her filver amounted only to about 5000/. fterling. But to balance this fuccefs, we had the misfortune to find that the Tryal had fprung her main-mad, and that her maintop-mad had come by the board ; and as we were all of us danding to the eafl- ward the next morning, with a frefli gale at South, die had the ad- Z 2 ditional ( 1 7 2 ) ditional ill-luck to lpring her fore-maft : So that now (lie had not a maft left, on which fhe could carry fail. Thefe unhappy incidents were ftill aggravated by the impoffibility we were juft then under of shifting her ; for the wind blew fo hard, and raifed fuch a hollow fea, that we could not venture to hoift out our boat, and confequent- ly could have no communication with her ; fo that we were obliged to lie to for the greater! part of forty-eight hours to attend her, as we could have no thought of leaving her to herfelf in her prefent un- happy fituation : It was no fmall accumulation to thefe misfortunes, that wo were all the while driving to the leeward of our ftation, at the very time too, when, by our intelligence, we had reafon to expeCt feveral of the enemy’s ffiips would appear upon the coaft, who would now gain the port of Valparaifo without obftruCtion. And I am verily perfuaded, that the embarafment we received from the d'if- mafting of the Tryal , and our abfence from our intended ftation, occafioned thereby, deprived us of fome very confiderable captures. The weather proving fomewhat more moderate on the 27th, we lent our boat for the Captain of the Tryal, who, when he came on board us, produced an inftrument, figned by himfelf and all his officers, reprefenting that the Sloop, belides being dif- mafted, was fo very leaky in her hull, that even in moderate wea- ther it was neceffary to ply the pumps conftantly, and that they were then fcarcely fufficient to keep her free ; fo that in the late gale, though they had all been engaged at the pumps by turns, yet the w r ater had encreafed upon them 5 and, upon the whole, they apprehended her to be at prefent fo very defective, that if they met with much bad weather, they muft all inevitably perilh ; and there- fore they petitioned the Commodore to take fome meafures for their future fafety. But the refitting of the Tryal, and the re- pairing of her defeats, was an undertaking that in the prefent con- juncture greatly exceeded our power ; for we had no malls to fpare her, we had no ftores to compleat her rigging, nor had we any port where fhe might be hove down, and her bottom examined : Belides, had a port and proper requilites for this purpofe been in our polfeffio% ( 173 ) poffeffion, yet it would have been extreme imprudence, in fo criti- cal a conjuncture, to have loitered away To much time, as would have been neceffary for thefe operations. The Commodore there- fore had no choice left him, but was under a neceffity of taking out her people, and deflroying her : However, as he conceived it expedient to keep up the appearance of our force, he ap- pointed the Tryal's prize (which had been often employed by the Viceroy of Peru as a man of war) to be a frigate in his Majefly’3 fervice, manning her with the Tryal’s crew, and giving commif- fions to the Captain and all the inferior officers accordingly. This new frigate, when in the Spanifo fervice, had mounted thirty-two guns j but ffie was now to have only twenty, which were the twelve that were on board the Tryal , and eight that had belonged to the Anna Pink. When this affair was thus refolved on, Mr, Anfon gave orders to Captain Saunders to put it in execution, di- recting him to take out of the Sloop the arms, ftores, ammunition, and every thing that could be of any ufe to the other ffiips, and then to fcuttle her and fink her. After Captain Saunders had feen her deftroyed, he was to proceed with his' new frigate (to be called the T’ryal Prize) and to cruife off the highland of Valpa- raifo , keeping it from him N.N.W, at the diftance of twelve or fourteen leagues : For as all fhips bound from Valparaifo to the northward fleer that courfe, Mr. Anfon propofed by this means to flop any intelligence, that might be difpatched to Callao , of two of their ffiips being miffing, which might give them apprehenfions of the Englijh fquadron being in their neighbourhood. The TryaPs Prize was to continue on this ftation twenty- four days, and, if not joined by the Commodore at the expiration of that term, ffie was then to proceed down the coafl to Pifco or Nafca , where ffie would be certain to meet with Mr. Anfon. The Commo- dore likewife ordered Lieutenant Saumarez y who commanded the Centurion's prize, to keep company with Captain Saunders , both to affifl him in unloading the Sloop, and alfo that by fpread- ing in their cruife, there might be lefs danger of any of the ene- 4 nay’s: ( r 74 ) sny’s fhips flipping by unobferved. Thefe orders being difpatched, the Centurion parted from the other veSTels at eleven in the evening, on the 27 th of September , directing her courfe to the fouthward, with a view of cruiling for fome days to the windward of Valparaifo. And now by this distribution of our Ships we flattered ourfelves, that we had taken all the advantages of the enemy that we pofli- bly could with our fmall force, fince our difpofltion was doubtlefs the moft prudent that could be projected. For, as we might fup- pofe the Gloucejter by this time to be drawing near the high- land of Paita , we were enabled, by our feparate Stations, to in- tercept all veSTels employed either betwixt Peru and Chili to the fouthward, or betwixt Panama and Peru to the northward : Since the principal trade from Peru to Chili being carried on to the port of Valparaifo , the Centurion cruiling to the windward of Valparaifo , would, in all probability, meet with them, as it is the conftant practice of tliofe fhips to fall in with the coaft, to the windward of that port : The Glouce(ler would, in like manner, be in the way of the trade bound from Panama or to the northward, to any part of Peru 3 fince the highland off which She was Stationed is constantly made by every Ship in that voyage. And whilst the Cen- turion and Gloucefer were thus Situated for interrupting the enemy’s trade, the Tryal’s Prize and Centurion's Prize were as convenient- ly potted for preventing all intelligence, by intercepting all Ships bound from Valparaifo to the northward 3 for it was on board thefe veSTels that it was to be feared fome account of us might poflibly be fent to Peru. But the moSt prudent difpofitions carry with them only a proba- bility of fuccefs, and can never enfure its certainty: Since thofe chances, which it was reafonable to overlook in deliberation, are fometimes of moSt powerful influence in execution. Thus in the prefent cafe, the diftrefs of the Pryal , and our quitting our Station to afiift her (events which no degree of prudence could either fore- fee or obviate) gave an opportunity to all the Ships bound to Val- paraifo , to reach that port without molefiation, during this unlucky a. interval, AT ( *75 ) interval. So that though, after leaving Captain Saunders , we were very expeditious in regaining our dation, where we got the 29th at noon, yet in plying on and off till the 6th of October, we had not the good fortune to difcover a fail of any fort : And then having loft all hopes of meeting with better fortune by a longer flay, we. made fail to the leeward of the port, in order to join our prizes ; but when we arrived off the highland where they were directed to cruife, we did not find them, though we continued there four or five days. We fuppofed that fome chace had occafioned their leaving their dation, and therefore we proceeded down the coaft to the highland of Nafca , which was the fecond rendezvous,, where Captain Saunders was directed to join us. Here we got on the 2 1 ft, and were in great expectation of falling in with fome of the enemy’s veffels, as both the accounts of former voyages, and the information of our prifoners allured us, that all fhips bound to Callao conflantly make this land, to prevent the danger of running to the leeward of the port. But notwithdand- ing the advantages of this flation, we faw no fail till the 2d of November , when two fhips appeared in fight together ; we imme- diately gave them chace, and loon perceived that they were the Tryal ' s and Centurion's prizes : As they had the wind of us, we brought to and waited their coming up ; when Captain Saunders came on board us, and acquainted the Commodore, that he had cleared the Tryal purfuant to his orders, and having fcuttled her, he remained by her till die funk, but that it was the 4th of Octo- ber before this was effected ; for there ran fo large and hollow a fea, that the Sloop, having neither mads nor fails to deady her, rolled and pitched fo violently, that it was impodible for a boat to lay a long-lide of her, for the greated part of the time : And du- ring this attendance on the Sloop, they were all driven fo far to the North- wed, that they were afterwards obliged to dretch a long way to the wedward to regain the ground they had lod ; which was the reafon that we had not met with them on their dation as we expeCled. We found they had not been more fortunate in their cruile than we were, for they had feen no veffel fince they fepa- rated ( 1 7 6 ) Tated from us. The little fuccefs we all had, and our certainty, that had any fhips been ftirriiSg in thefe Teas for fome time pad: we mud: have met with them, made us believe, that the enemy at Valparaifo , on the raiding of the two fhips we had taken, had fuf- pefted us to be in the neighbourhood, and had confequently laid an embargo on all the trade in the fouthern parts. We likewife ap- prehended, that they might by this time be fitting out the men of war at Callao ; as we knew that it was no uncommon thing for an exprefs from Valparaifo to reach Lima in twenty-nine or thirty days, and it was now more than fifty fince we had taken our firfl prize. Thefe apprehenfions of an embargo along the coaft,and of the equip- ment of the Spanijh fquadron at Callao , determined the Commo- dore to haften down to the leeward of Callao, and to join Captain Mitchel (who was flationed off Paita ) as fcon as poflible, that our flrength being united, we might be prepared to give the fhips from Callao a warm reception, if they dared to put to fea. With this view we bore away the fame afternoon, taking particular care to keep at fuch a diflance from the fhore, that there might be no clanger of our being difcovered from thence ; for we knew that all the country fhips were commanded, under the feverefi penalty, not to fail by the port of Callao without flopping ; and as this order was conflantly complied with, we fliould undoubtedly be known for enemies, if we were feen to aft contrary to it. In this new navi- gation, not being certain whether we might not meet the Spanijb fquadron in our route, the Commodore took on board the Centurion part of his crew, with which he had formerly manned the Carmelo. And now Handing to the northward, we, before night came on, had a view of the fmall Ifland called St. Gallan , which bore from us N. N. E. 4- E, about feven leagues diilant. This Ifland lies in the latitude of about fourteen degrees South, and about five miles to the northward of a highland, called M.crro veijo , or the old man's head. I mention this Ifland, and the highland near it, more parti- cularly, becaufe between them is the mofl eligible flation on that coail for cruifing upon the enemy j as hereabouts all fhips bound to ( 1 77 ) Co Callao , whether from the northward or the fouthward, run well in with the land. By the 5th of November , at three in the afternoon, we were advanced within view of the highland of Barranca , lying in the latitude of io° : 36' South, bearing from us N. E. by E, diftant eight or nine leagues and an hour and an half afterwards we had the fatisfaCtion fo long wiftied for, of feeing a fail. She firft appeared to leeward, and we all imme- diately gave her chace ; but the Centurion fo much outfailed the two prizes, that we foon ran them out of fight, and gained con- fiderably on the chace : However, night coming on before we came up with her, we, about feven o’clock, loft fight of her, and were in fome perplexity what courfe to fteer 5 but at laft Mr. Anfon re- folved, as we were then before the wind, to keep all his fails fet, and not to change his courfe : For though we had no doubt but the chace would alter her courfe in the night ; yet, as it was un- certain what tack file would go upon, it was thought prudent to keep on our courfe, as we muft by this means unavoidably near her, rather than to change it on conjecture ; when, if we ftiould miftake, we muft infallibly lofe her. Thus then we continued the chace about an hour and an half in the dark, fome one or other on board us conftantly imagining they difcerned her fails right a-head of us j but at length Mr. Brett , our fecond Lieutenant, did really difcover her about four points on the larboard-bow, fleering off to the feaward : We immediately clapped the helm a- weather, and flood for her ; and in lefs than an hour came up with her, and having fired fourteen fiiot at her, file ftruck. Our third Lieutenant, Mr. Dennis, was fent in the boat wth fixteen men, to lake poffeft fion of the prize, and to return the prifoners to our fiiip. This vefiel was named the Santa Percfa de JeJits, built at Guaiaquil, of about three hundred tuns burthen, and was commanded by BartO- lome Urrunaga, a Bifcayer : She was bound from Guaiaquil to Callao ; her loading conlifted of timber, cocao, coco-nuts, tobacco, hides, Pi to thread (which is very fcrong, and is made of a fpecies of grafs) Quito cloth, wax, &c. The fpecies on board her was lh~ A a ■ confidbrabFe ( 1 7 s ) confiderable, being principally fmall filver money, and not amount- ing to more than 170/. fterling. It is true, her cargoe was of great value, could we have difpofed of it ; but, the Spaniards hav- ing ftri fo that they had reached the fhore, and were in part difembarked by the time the fecond gun fired. As foon as our men landed, they were conducted by one of the Spanijh Pilots to the entrance of a narrow ftreet, not above fifty yards diftant from the beach, where they were covered from the fire of the fort j and being formed in the beft manner the fhortnefs of the time would allow, they immediately marched for the parade, which was a large fquare at the end of this ftreet, the fort being one fide of the fquare, and the Governor’s houfe another, as may be feen more diftin&ly in the plan, where likewife the road they took from their landing to the fort is marked out by a prickt line. In this march (though performed with tolerable regularity) the fhouts and clamours of threefcore failors, who had been confined fo long on fhipboardj ( r 93 ) Clipboard, and were now for the firft time on fliore in an enemy’s country, joyous as they always are, when they land, and animated befides in the prefent cafe with the hopes of an immenfe pillage ; the huzza’s, I fay, of this fpirited detachment, joined with the noife of their drums, and favoured by the night, had augmented their numbers, in the opinion of the enemy, to at leaf! three hun- dred j by which perfuafion the inhabitants were fo greatly intimi- dated, that they were much more folicitous about the means of flight than of refinance : So that though upon entering the pa- rade, our people received a volley from the Merchants who owned the treafure then in the town, and who, with a few others, had ranged themfelves in a gallery that ran round the Governor’s houfe, yet that pofl: was immediately abandoned upon the firft fire made by our people, who were thereby left in quiet pofleflion of the parade. On this fuccefs Lieutenant Brett divided his men into two par- ties, ordering one of them to furround the Governor’s houfe, and, if poflible, to fecure the Governor, whilft he himfelf at the head of the other marched to the fort, with an intent to force it. But, contrary to his expectation, he entered it without ©ppofition j for the enemy, on his approach, abandoned it, and made their efcape over the walls. By this means the whole place was mattered in lefs than a quarter of an hour’s time from the firft landing, and with no other lofs than that of one man killed on the fpot, and two wounded ; one of which was the Spanijh Pilot of the Terrefa, who received a flight bruife by a ball which grazed on his wrift : Indeed another of the company, the Honourable Mr. Kepple , fon to the Earl of Albemarle^ had a very narrow efcape ; for having on a jockey-cap, one fide of the peak was fhaved off clofe to his temple by a ball, which however did him no other injury. Lieutenant Brett , when he had thus far happily fucceeded, placed a guard at the fort, and another at the Governor’s houfe, and ap- pointed centinels at all the avenues of the town, both to prevent any furprize from the enemy, and to fecure the effects in the place C c from ( 19 + ) from being embezzled. This being done, his next care was to feize on the Cuflom-houfe, where the treafure lay, and to examine if any of the inhabitants remained in the town, that he might know what farther precautions it was neceflary to take ; but he foon found that the numbers left behind were no ways formidable : For the greateft part of them (being in bed when the place was furprized) had run away with fo much precipitation, that they had not given themfelves time to put on their cloaths. In this general rout the Governor was not the lafl to fecure himfelf, for he fled betimes half naked, leaving his wife, a young Lady of about feventeen years of age, to whom he had been married but three or four days, be- hind him ; though fhe too was afterwards carried off in her fhift by a couple of centinels, juft as the detachment, ordered to inveft the houfe, arrived before it. This efcape of the Governor was an un- pleaflng circumftance, as Mr. Anfon had particularly recommended it to Lieutenant Brett to fecure his perfon, if poflible, in hopes that by that means we might be able to treat for the ranfom of the place ; But it feems his alertnefs rendered the execution of thefe orders impracticable. The few inhabitants who remained were confined in one of the churches under a guard, except fome flout Negroes which were found in the town ; thefe, inflead of being fhut up, were employed the remaining part of the night to aflift in carrying the treafure from the Cuftom-houfe and other places to the fort : However, there was care taken that they fhould be always attended by a file of mufqueteers. The tranfporting the treafure from the Cuflom-houfe to the fort, was the principal occupation of Mr. Brett's people, after he had got pofleflion of the place. But the failors, while they were thus bulled, could not be prevented from entring the houfes which lay near them, in fearch of private pillage : Where the firfl things which occurred to them, being the cloaths that the Spaniards in their flight had left behind them, and which, according to the cuflom of the country, were mofl of them either embroidered or laced, our people eagerly feized thefe glittering habits, and put them ( *95 ) •them on over their own dirty trowfers and jackets, not forgetting, at the fame time, the tye or bag-wig and laced hat, which were ge- nerally found with the cloaths; and when this practice was once begun, there was no preventing the whole detachment from imi- tating it : But thofe, who came lateft into the fafhion, not finding mens cloaths fufficient to equip themfelves, were obliged to take up with womens gowns and petticoats, which (provided there was finery enough) they made no fcruple of putting on, and blending with their own greafy drefs. So that when a party of them thus ridiculoufly metamorphofed firft appeared before Mr. Buct, he was extreamly fur prized at the grotefque fight, and could not immediately be fatisfied they were his own people. Thefe were the tranfadHpns of our detachment on fhore at Faita the firft night : But to return to what was done on board the Centurion in that interval. I muft obferve, that after the boats were gone off, we lay by till one o’clock in the morning, and then fup- poiing our detachment to be near landing, we made an eafy fail for the bay. About feven in the morning we began to open the bay, and foon after had a view of the town ; and though we had no reafon to doubt of the fuccefs of the enterprize, yet it was with great joy that we firft difcovered an infallible fignal of the cer- tainty of our hopes ; this was by means of our perfpeCtives, for through them we faw an Englijh flag hoifted on the fiag-ftaff of the fort, v/hich to us was an inconteftable proof that our people were in pofTeflion of the place. We plied into the bay with as much expedition as the wind, which then blew off fhore, would permit us : And at eleven, the Try a l ' s boat came on board us, loaden with dollars and church-plate ; when the officer who commanded her informed us of the preceding night’s tranfadlions, flich as we have already related them. About two in the afternoon we anchored in ten fathom and a half, at a mile and a half diftance from the town, and were confequently near enough to have a more im- mediate intercourfe with thofe on fhore. And now we found that Mr. Brett had hitherto gone on in collecting and removing the cz treaiure ( >96 ) treafure without interruption j but that the enemy had rendezvoufed from all parts of the country on a hill, at the back of the town, where they made no inconfiderable appearance : For amongft the relb of their force, there were two hundred horfe feemingly very well armed, and mounted, and, as we conceived, properly trained and regimented, being furnifhed with trumpets, drums and ftandards. Thefe troops paraded about the hill with great oftentation, founding their military mufick, and pradlifing every art to intimidate us, (as our numbers on fhore were by this time not unknown to them) in hopes that we might be induced by our fears to abandon the place before the pillage was compleated. But we were not fo ignorant as to believe, that this body of horle, which feemed to be what the enemy principally depended on, would dare to venture in ftreets and amongft houfes, even had their numbers been three times as large ; and therefore, notwithftanding their menaces, we went on calmly, as long as the day-light lafted, in fending off the treafure, and in employing the boats to carry on board the refrefhments, fuch as hogs, fowls, &c. which we found here in great abundance. How- ever at night, to prevent any furprize, the Commodore fent on fhore a reinforcement, who polled themfelves in all the paffages leading to the parade ; and for their further fecurity, traverfed the ftreets with barricadoes fix feet high : But the enemy continuing quiet all night, we, at day-break, returned again to our labour of loading the boats, and fending them off. By this time we were convinced of what confequence it would have been to us, had fortune feconded the prudent views of the Commodore, by permitting us to have fecured the Governor. For as we found in the place many ftore-houfes full of valuable effedts, which were ufelefs to us at prefent, and fuch as we could not find room for on board : Had the Governor been in our power, he would, in all probability, have treated for the ranfom of this mer- chandife, which would have been extrremely advantageous both to him and us : Whereas, he being now at liberty, and having colledt- ed all the force of the country for many leagues round, and having even ( 197 ) even got a body of militia from Fiura , which was fourteen leagues didant, he was fo elated with his numbers, and fo fond of his new military command, that he feemed not to trouble himfelf about the* fate of his Government. So that though Mr. Anfon fent feveral' meffages to him by fome of the inhabitants, whom we had taken prifoners, offering to enter into a treaty for the ranfom of the town and goods, giving him, at the fame time, an intimation that we fhould be far from infilling on a rigorous equivalent, but per- haps might be fatisfied with fbme live cattle,, and a few neceffaries for the ufe of the fqmdron,. threatning too, that if he would not condefcend at lead; to treat,, we would fet fire to the town, and all the warehoufes : Yet the Governor was fo imprudent and arrogant, that he defpifed all thefe reiterated overtures,, and did not deign even to return the lead: anfwer to them. On the fecond day of our being in podfedion of the place, feve- ral Negro daves deferted from the enemy on the hill, and coming into the town, voluntarily engaged in our fervice : One of thefe was well known to a Gentleman on board, who remembered him formerly at Fanama. We now learnt that the Spaniards without the town were in extreme want of water, for many of their daves crept into the place by Health, and carried away feveral jars of water to their mafters on the hill ; and though fome of them were feized by our men in the attempt, yet the third amongd the enemy was fo preding, that they continued this practice till we left the place. On this fecond day we were affured, both by the deferters and by thefe prifoners we took, that the Spaniards on the hill, who were by this time encreafed to a formidable number, had refolved to dorm the town and fort the fucceeding night > and that one Gordon , a Scotch Papid, and Captain of a Chip in thofe feas, was to have the command of this enterprize. However, we, notwith- danding, continued fending off our boats, and profecuted our work without the lead hurry or precipitation till the evening ; when a reinforcement was again fent on diore by the Commodore, and Lieutenant Brett doubled his guards at each of the barricadoes ; and our ( *98 ) our ports being connected by the means of centinels placed within call of each other, and the whole being virtted by frequent rounds, attended with a drum, thefe marks of our vigilance which the ene- my could not be ignorant of, as they could doubtlefs hear the drum, if not the calls of the centinels j thefe marks, I fay, of our vigilance, and of our readinefs to receive them, cooled their refolution, and made them forget the vaunts of the preceding day j fo that we parted this fecond night with as little moleftation as we had done the firrt. We had finifhed fending the treafure on board the Centurion the evening before j fo that the third morning, being the 1 5th of No- vember, the boats were employed in carrying off the moft valuable part of the effeCts that remained in the town. And the Commo- dore intending to fail in the afternoon, he, about ten o’clock, pur- fuant to his promife, fent all his prifoners, amounting to eighty- eight, on fhore, giving orders to Lieutenant Brett to fecure them in one of the churches under a rtricSt guard, till the men were ready to be embarked. Mr. Brett was at the fame time ordered to burn the whole town, except the two churches (which by good fortune flood at fome diftance from the houfes) and then he was to aban- don the place, and to return on board. Thefe orders were punctu- ally complied with 3 for Mr. Brett immediately fet his men to work, to diftribute pitch, tar, and other combuftibles (of which great quan- tities were found here) into houfes rttuated in different rtreets of the town, fo that, the place being fired in many quarters at the fame time, the deftruCtion might be more violent and fudden, and the enemy, after our departure, might not be able to extinguifh it. When thefe preparations were made, he, in the next place, com- manded the cannon, which he found in the fort, to be nailed up ; and then letting fire to thofe houfes which were moft to windward, he collected his men, and marched towards the beach, where the boats waited to carry them off. As that part of the beach whence he intended to embark was an open place without the town, near where the churches are marked in the foregoing plan, the Spaniards on the hill perceiving he w.as retreating, refolved to try if they could ( i99 ) could not precipitate his departure, and thereby lay fome founda- tion for their future boafling. To this end a fmall fquadron of their horfe, confifling of about fixty, picked out, as I fuppofe, for this fervice, marched down the hill with much feeming refolu- tion j fo that, had we not entertained an adequate opinion of their prowefs, we might have imagined, that now we were on the open beach with no advantage of f tuation, they would certainly have charged us : But we prefumed (and we were not miflaken) that this was mere oflentation. For, notwithflanding the pomp and parade they at firfl came on with, Mr. Brett had no fooner ordered his men to halt and face about, than the enemy flopped their career, and never dared to advance a flep further. When our people were arrived at their boats, and were ready to go on board, they were for fome time retarded, by miffing one of their number ; and being unable, on their mutual enquiries amongfl each other, to inform themfelves where he was left, or by what accident he was detained, they, after a confiderable delay, refolved to get into their boats, and to depart without him. But when the laft man was actually embarked, and the boats were jufl putting off, they heard him calling to them to take him in : The place was by this time fo thoroughly on fire, and the fmoke covered the beach fo effectually, that they could fcarcely difcern him, tho’ they heard his voice. However, the Lieutenant inflantly ordered one of the boats to his relief, who found him up to the chin in water, for he had waded as far as he durfl, being extremely fright- ned with the apprehenfions of falling into the hands of an enemy, enraged, as they doubtlefs were, at the pillage and deflruction of their town. On enquiring into the caufe of his flaying behind, it was found that he had taken that morning too large a dofe of brandy, which had thrown him into fo found a fleep, that he did not awake till the fire came near enough to fcorch him. He was flrangely amazed at firfl opening his eyes, to fee the houfes all in a blaze on one fide, and feveral Spaniards and Indians not far from him on the other. The greatnefs and fuddennefs of his fright inflantly reduced mn ( 200 ) him to a ftate of fobriety, and gave him fufficient prefence of mind to pufh through the thickeft of the fmoke, as the likelieft means to efcape the enemy $ and making the belt of his way to the beach, he ran as far into the water as he durft, (for he could not fwim) before he ventured to look back. I cannot but obferve here, to the honour of our people, that though there were great quantities of wine and fpirituous liquors found in the place, yet this man was the only one who was known to have fo far neglected his duty, as to get drunk. Indeed, their whole behaviour, while they were on fhore, was much more regu- lar than could well have been expected from failors, who had been fo long confined to a fhip : And though part of this prudent de- meanor muft doubtlefs be imputed to the diligence of their Officers, and to the excellent difcipiine to which they had been conftantly inured on board the Commodore, yet it was doubtlefs no finall re- putation to the men, that they fhould generally refrain from in- dulging themfelves in thofe intoxicating liquors, which they found ready to their hands at almoft every warehoufe. Having mentioned this fingle inftance of drunkennefs, I cannot pafs by another overfight, which was likewife the only one of its kind, and which was attended with very particular circumflances. There was an Englif.man, who had formerly wrought as a ffiip- carpenter in the yard at Portfmouth , but leaving his country, had af- terwards entered into the Spanijh fervice, and was employed by them at the port of Guaiaquil j and it being well known to his friends in England that he was then in that part of the world, they put letters on board the Centurion , directed to him. This man being then by accident amongft the Spaniards , who were retired to the hill at Paita, he was ambitious (as it fhould feem) of acquiring fome reputation amongft his new Mafters. With this view he came down unarmed to a sentinel of ours, placed at fome diftance from the fort towards the enemy, to whom he pretended that he was defirous of furren- dring himfelf, and of entering into our fervice. Our centinel had a cock’d piftol in his hand, but being deceived by the other’s Pht'XiH'. : igjj . R E F E Jt E J\' C E S. Prizes f /• t’A/ZZZ t 7 / Z tj? Ao , //„■ '<'// 17 // . 'it/a. Srr/ti/ <./'/> ,W/r Az/r/z^yt y/'///,- TOWN o/ PAY TA ozz /Ar Am.i/y' SANTA FEE />/ //,r SOUTH SEA. XEFEXEJVCES. 7 "“'“ ,:/ //„■ ■/„:,■ /iW# A/ a ///<•,* 0/^36 Afatv ftz*/i — ^ v/ - - y - ✓* 7 ou zz AszA, zzzzzA c*. A/zr* ^ /’. _[* * 'A'or't /ft//* <•?•//// A /////0 \cny ti /•/<• 0/ z/z <> // /z fz/zy/ S/tt f'Assri . ^ • *//n>yz/t 7 r<* ZZ’/z f /’r’ //zs ,* 1 $e>ftA/ AtZ ZZ zAz’zA AA • A . » A/u' A ozz z-fzz A ,y \ //s / re // <7 r/t 7 /{.> . f • a/s Ay# /'/.j// a // /// •( ■// . ( 201 ) fair Speeches, he was fo imprudent as to let him approach much nearer than he ought 3 fo that the Shipwright, watching his oppor- tunity, rufhed on the centinel, and Seizing his piftol, wrenched it out of his hand, and inftantly ran away with it up the hill. By this time, two of our people, who feeing the fellow advance had fuf~ pedted his intention, were making towards him, and were thereby prepared to purfue him ; but he got to the top of the hill before they could reach him, and then turning about fired the piftol 3 whereupon his purfuers immediately returned the fire, and though he was at a great diftance, and the creft of the hill hid him as foon as they had fired, fo that they took it for granted they had miffed him, yet we afterwards learnt that he was fhot through the body, and had fallen down dead the very next ftep he took after he was out of fight. The centinel too, who had been thus grofily impofed up- on, did not efcape unpunifhed 3 fince he was ordered to be Severe- ly whipt for being thus Shamefully Surprized upon his poft, and hav- ing thereby given an example of careleflnefs, which, if followed in other inftances, might prove fatal to us all. But to return : By the time our people had helped their comrade out of the water, and were making the belt of their way to the Squadron, the flames had taken poflefiion of every part of the town, and had got Such hold, both by means of the combuftibles that had been diftributed for that purpofe, and by the flightnefs of the materials of which the houfes were compofed, and their aptitude to take fire, that it was Sufficiently apparent, no efforts of the enemy (though they flocked down in great numbers) could poflibly put a flop to it, or prevent the entire deftrudtion of the place, and all the merchandize contained therein. A whole town on fire at once, especially where the buildings burnt with Such facility and violence, being a very Angular fpe&acle, Mr. Brett had the curiofity to delineate its ap r pearance, • together with that of the Ships in the harbour, as may be feen in the annexed plate. ( 202 ) Oiir detachment under Lieutenant Brett having fafely joined the fquadron, the Commodore prepared to leave the place the fame evening. He found, when he firft came into the bay, fix veflels of the enemy at anchor ; one whereof was the fhip, which, ac- cording to our intelligence, was to have fkiled with the treafure to the eoafi: of Mexico , and which, as we were perfuaded the was a good failor, we refolved to take with us : The others were two Snows, a Bark, and two Row-gallies of thirty-fix oars a-piece:, Thefe laid, as we were afterwards informed, with many others of the fame kind built at different ports, were intended to prevent our landing in the neighbourhood of Callao : For the Spaniards , on the firft intelligence of our fquadron and its force, expedled that we would attempt the city of Lima. The Commodore, having no occafion for thefe other veflels, had ordered the mails of all five of them to be cut away at his firfi: arrival j and on his leaving the place they were towed out of the harbour, and fcuttled and funk j and the command of the remaining lhip, called the Solidad \ being given to Mr. Hughs the Lieutenant of the Lryal , who had with him a crew of ten men to navigate her, the fquadron, towards midnight, weighed anchor, and failed out of the bay, being at prefent aug T mented to fix fail, that is, the Centurion and the Tryal’s Prize, to- gether with the Carmelo. , the Terefa y the Carmin , and our laft ac- quired vefiel the Solidad. And now, before I entirely quit the account of our tranfadtions at this place, it may not perhaps be improper to give a fuccindt re- lation of; the booty we got here, and of the lofs the Spaniards fuftained. I'have before obferved, that there were great quantities of valuable effedts in the town j but as moll of them were what we could neither difpofe of nor carry away, the total amount of this merchandize can only be rudely guefled at. The Spa- niards ^ in their reprefentations fent to the Court of Madrid ^ (as we were afterwards allured) eftimated their whole lofs at a million and a half of dollars : And when it is confidered, that no fmall part of the goods we burnt there were of the richeft and moll expenfive ( 203 ) expenfive fpecies, as broad-cloaths, filks, cambrics, velvets, &c. I cannot but think their valuation fufficiently moderate. As to our felves, the acquifition we made, though inconfiderable in comparifon of what we deflroyed, was yet far from defpicable - 3 for the wrought plate, dollars and other coin which fell into our hands amounted to upwards of 30,000 /. flerling, befides feveral rings, bracelets, and jewels, whofe intrinlick value we could not then determine ; and over and above all this, the plunder, which became the property of the immediate captors, was very great ; fo that upon the whole it was by much the mod; important booty we met with upon that coail. There remains,' dill another matter to be related, which, on account of the fignal honour which our national character in thofe parts has thence received, and the reputation which our Commo- dore in particular has thereby acquired, merits a didindt and circumdantial difcuflion. It has been already oblerved, that all the prifoners taken by us in our preceding prizes were here put on fhore, and difchargedj amongd whom there were fome perfons of confiderable didindlion, efpecially a youth of about feventeen years of age, fon of the Vice-Prefident of the Coun- cil of Chili. As the barbarity of the Buccaneers, and the artful ufe the Ecclefiadicks had made of it, had filled the na- tives of thofe countries with the mod; terrible ideas of the Eng- lijh cruelty 5 we always found our prifoners, at their fird coming on board us, to be extremely dejedted, and under great horror and anxiety. Particularly this youth, whom I lad; mentioned, having never been from home before, lamented his captivity in the moil moving manner, regretting, in very plaintive terms, his parents, his brothers, his fillers, and his native country j of all which he was fully perfuaded he had taken his lad: farewel, believing that he was now devoted, for the remaining part of his life, to an ab- jedt and cruel fervitude. Indeed his companions on board, and all the Spaniards that came into our'power, had the fame defponding opinion of their fituation. Mr. Anfon conftantly exerted hisutmoft endeavours D d 2 to ( 2°4 ) to efface thefe terrifying impreffions they had received of us ; always taking care, that as many of the principal people among them as there was room for, ihould dine at his table by turns j and giving the ftridt- eft orders too, that they fhould at all times, and in every circumffance, be treated with the utmoff decency and humanity. But notwith- ff an ding this precaution, it was generally obferved, that for the firff day or two they did not quit their fears, fufpedting the gentlenefs of their ufage to be only preparatory to fome unthought-of cala- mity. However, being at length convinced of our fincerity, they grew perfectly eafy in their fituation, and remarkably chearful, fo that it was often difputable, whether or no they confidered their being detained by us as a misfortune. For the youth I have above- mentioned, who was near two months on board us, had at laft fo far conquered his melancholy furmifes, and had taken fuch an affection to Mr. y infon , and feemed fo much pleafed with the manner of life, totally different from all he had ever feen before, that it is doubtful to me whether, if his own opinion had been alked, he would not have preferred a voyage to England in the Centurion , to the being fet on fhore at Paita, where he was at liberty to return to his country and his friends. This conduct of the Commodore to his prifoners, which was continued without interruption or deviation, gave them all the higheft idea of his humanity and benevolence, and induced them likewife (as mankind are fond of forming general opinions) to en- tertain very favourable thoughts of the whole Englijh Nation. But whatever they might be difpofed to think of Mr. Anfon before the capture of the P’erefa , their veneration for him was prodigioufly in- creafed by his conduct towards thofe women, whom (as I have already mentioned) he took in that veffel : For the leaving them in the poffeffion of their apartments, the ftridt orders given to prevent all his people on board from approaching them, and the permitting the Pilot to flay with them as their guardian, were mea- fures that feemed fo different from what might be expected from ah enemy and an heretick, that the Spaniards on board, though they had . f 2 °5 ) had themfelves experienced his beneficence, were Surprised at this hew inftance of it, and the more fo, as all this was done without his ever feeing the women, though the two daughters were both efteemed handfome, and the youngeft was celebrated for her un- common beauty. The women themfelves too were fo fenfible of the obligations they owed him, for the care and attention with which he had protected them, that they abfolutely refufed to go on Shore at Paita , till they had been permitted to wait on him on board the Centurion, to return him thanks in perfon. Indeed, all the prifoners left us with the ftrongeft affurances of their grateful remembrance of his uncommon treatment. A Jefuit in particular, whom the Commodore had taken, and who was an Ecclefiaftick of fome distinction, could not help exprefiing himfelf with great thankfulnefs for the civilities he and his countrymen had found on board, declaring, that he Should confider it as his duty to do Mr. Anfon jufiiice at all times ; adding, that his ufage of the men prifoners was Such as could never be forgot, and fuch as he could never fail to acknowledge and recite upon all occafions : But that his behaviour to the women was fo extraordinary, and fo extremely honourable, that he doubted all the regard due to his own ecclefi- aftical character, would be Scarcely Sufficient to render it credible. Indeed we were afterwards informed, that he and the reft of our prifoners had not been Silent on this head, but had, both at Lima and at other places, given the greatest encomiums to our Commo- dore } the Jefuit in particular, as we were told, having, on his ac- count, interpreted in a lax and hypothetical fenfe that article of his Church, which afiferts the impoffibility of hereticks being Saved. Nor let it be imagined, that the impreffions which the Spaniards hence received to our advantage, is a matter of Small import ; for, not to mention Several of our countrymen who have already felt the good effects of thefe prepoflcffions ; the Spaniards are a Na- tion, whofe good opinion of us is doubtlefs of more confequence than that of all the world befides : Not only as the commerce we have formerly carried on with them, and perhaps may again here- after. ( 206 ) after, is fo extremely valuable ; but alfo as the tranfadting it does fo immediately depend on the honour and good faith of thofe who are entrufted with its management. However, had no national conveniencies attended it, the Commodore’s equity and good tem- per would not lefs have deterred him from all tyranny and cruelty to thofe, whom the fortune of war had put into his hands. I fliall only add, that by his conftant attachment to thefe humane and prudent maxims, he has acquired a difitinguifhed reputation amongft the Creolian Spaniards, which is not confined merely to the coaft of the South- Seas, but is extended through all the Spanijh fettlements in America ; fo that his name is frequently to be met with in the mouths of molt of the spanijh inhabitants of that prodigious Empire. CHAP, ( 207 ) CHAP. Vi I. From our departure from Paita, to our arrival at W H E N we got under fail from the road of Paita, (which, as I have already obferved, was about midnight, on the 1 6th of November) we flood to the weftward, and in the morning the Commodore gave orders, that the whole fquadron fhould fpread themfelves, to look out for the Gloucejier. For we then drew near the ftation where Captain Mitchel had been directed to cruife, and we hourly expedted to get fight of him j but the whole day. paifed without feeing him. And now a jealoufy, which had taken its rife at Paita, between thofe who had. been -commanded on fhore for the attack, and thofe who had continued on board, grew to fuch a height, that the Com- modore, being made acquainted with it, thought it neceffary to in- terpofe his authority to appeafe it. The ground of this animofity was the plunder gotten at Paita, which thofe who had adted on fhore had appropriated to themfelves, confidering it as a reward for the rifques they had run, and the refolution they had fhown in that fervice. But thofe, who had remained on board, looked on this as a very partial and unjuft procedure, urging, that had it been left to their choice, they fhould have preferred the adting on fhore to the continuing on board ; that their duty, while their comrades were on fhore, was extremely fatiguing ; for befides the labour of the day, they were conftantly under arms all night to fecure the prifoners, whofe numbers exceeded their own, and of whom it was then neceffary to be extremely watchful, to prevent any attempts they might have formed in that critical conjundture : That upon the whole, it could not be denied, but that the prefence of a fufficient i . force } ( 208 ) force on board was as neceiTary to the fuccefs of the enterprize, as the aCtion of the others on fhore, and therefore thofe who had continued on board maintained, that they could not be deprived of their ihare of the plunder, without manifefl injuflice. Thefe were the contefls amongfl: our men, which were carried on with great heat on both fides : And though the plunder in queflion was a very trifle, in comparifon of the treafure taken in the place, (in which there was no doubt but thofe on board had an equal right) yet as the obftinacy of failors is not always regulated by the importance of the matter in difpute, the Commodore thought it neceflary to put a flop to this ferment betimes. Accordingly, the morning after our leaving Paita y he ordered all hands upon the quarter-deck ; where, addrefling himfelf to thofe who had been detached on fhore, he commended their behaviour, and thanked, them for their fervices on that occafion : But then reprefenting to them the reafons urged, by thofe who had continued on board, for an equal diftribution of the plunder, he told them, that he thought thefe reafons very conclufive, and that the expectations of their comrades were juftly founded ; and therefore he infilled, that not only the men, but all the officers likewife, who had been employ- ed in taking the place, fiiould produce the whole of their plunder immediately upon the quarter-deck ; and that it fhould be impar- tially divided amongfl the whole crew, in proportion to each man’s rank and commiffion : And to prevent thofe who had been in pof- fefiion of the plunder from murmuring at this diminution of their {hare, the Commodore added, that as an encouragement to others who might be hereafter employed on like fervices, he would give his entire (hare to be diflributed amongfl; thofe who had been de- tached for the attack of the place. Thus this troublefome affair, which, if permitted to have gone on, might perhaps have been attended with mifchievous confequences, was by the Commodore’s prudence foon appeafed, to the general fatisfaClion of the fhip’s company : Not but there were fome few, whofe felfifh difpofitions were uninfluenced by the juflice of this procedure, and who were f incapable ( 209 ) incapable of dilcerning the force of equity, however glaring, whea it tended to deprive them of any part of what they had once got into their hands. This important bufinefs employed the belt part of the day, after we came from Paita. And now, at night, having no fight of the Gloucejier , the Commodore ordered the fquadron to bring to, that we might not pafs her in the dark. The next morning we again looked out for her, and at ten we faw a fail, to which we gave chace ; and at two in the afternoon we came near enough to difcover her to be the Glouce/ler , with a fmall veffel in tow. About an hour after, we were joined by them ; and then we learnt that Captain Mitchel , in the whole time of his cruife, had only taken two prizes ; one of them being a fmall Snow, whofe cargoe confiftad chiefly of wine, brandy, and olives in jars, with about 7000/. in fpecie j and the other a large boat or launch, which the Gloucejier ' s barge came up with near the fhore. The prifoners on board this laffc veffel alledged, that they were very poor, and that their loading confifted only of cotton ; though the circumftances in which the barge furprized them, feemed to inflnuate that they were more opulent than they pretended to be ; for the Gloucejier s people found them at dinner upon pidgeon-pye, ferved up in iilver difhes. How- ever, the Officer who commanded the barge having opened feve- ral of the jars on board, to fatisfy his curioflty, and finding nothing in them but cotton, he was inclined to believe the account the pri- foners gave him : But the cargoe being taken into the Gloucejier , and there examined more ffxidtly, they were agreeably furprized to find, that the whole was a very extraordinary piece of falfe pack- age ; and that there was concealed amongfi: the cotton, in every jar, a confiderable quantity of double doubloons and dollars, to the amount on the whole cf near 12,000 /. This treafure was going to Paita, and belonged to the fame Merchants who were the pro- prietors of the greateff: part of the money we had taken there ; fo that had this boat efcaped the Gloucejier , it is probable her cargoe would have fallen into our hands. Befides theie two prizes which E e we ( 310 ) we have mentioned, the Glottcefter* s people told us, that they had been in light of two or three other fhips of the enemy which had efcaped them ; and one of them we had reafon to believe, from fome of our intelligence, was of an immenfe value. Being now joined by the Gluucejler and her prize, it was refolved that we fhould Hand to the northward, and make the bell of our way either to Cape St. Lucas oa California , or to Cape Corientes on the coaft of Mexico. Indeed the Commodore, when at Juan Fer- nandes , had determined with himfelf to touch in the neighbour- hood of Panama, and to endeavour to get fome correfpondence over land with the fleet under the command of Admiral Vernon. For when we departed from England , we left a large force at PortJ mouth, which was intended to be fent to the Weft -Indies, there to be employed in an expedition againft fome of the Spanijh fettle- ments. And Mr. Anfon taking it for granted, that this enterprize had fucceeded, and that Porto Bello perhaps might be then gar- rifoned by Britijh troops, he hoped, that on his arrival at the IJlhmus , he fhould eafily procure an intercourfe with our country- men on the other fide, either by the Indians , who were greatly difpofed in our favour, or even by the Spaniards themfelves, fome of whom, for proper rewards, might be induced to carry on this intelligence, which, after it was once begun, might be continued with very little difficulty ; fo that Mr .Anfon flattered himfelf, that he might by this means have, received a reinforcement of men from the other fide, and that by fettling a prudent plan of operations with our Commanders in the We ft -Indies, he might have taken even Panama itfelf ; which would have given to the Britijh Nation the poffeffion of that IJlhmus , whereby we fhould have been in effedl mailers of all the treafures of Peru, and fhould have had in our hands an equivalent for any demands, however extraordinary, which we might have been induced to have made on either of the branches of the Houfe of Bourbon. Such were the projects which the Commodore revolved in his thoughts at the Ifland of Juan Fernandes , notwithstanding the q. feeble ( 211 ) feeble condition to which he was then reduced. And indeed, had the fuccefs of our force in the Weft-Indies been anfwerable to the general expectation, it cannot be denied but thefe views would have been the moft prudent that could have been thought of. But in examining the papers which were found on board the Carmelo , die firfl prize we took, we learnt (though I then omitted to mention it) that our attempt againfl Carthagena had failed, and that there was no probability that our fleet, in that part of the world, would engage in any new enterprize, that would at all facilitate this plan. Mr. Anfon therefore gave over all hopes of being reinforced a-crofs the Ifthtnus , and confequently had no inducement at prefent to pro- ceed to Panama , as he was incapable of attacking the place ; and there was great reafon to believe, that by this time there was a general embargo on all the coafl. The only feaflble meafure then which was left us, was to fleer as foon as poflible to the fouthern parts of California , or to the ad- jacent coafl of Mexico , there to cruife for the Manila Galeon, which we knew was now at fea, bound to the port of Acapulco. And we doubted not to get on that flation, time enough to intercept her ; for this fhip does not ufually arrive at Acapulco till towards the mid- dle of January , and we were now but in the middle of Novem- ber, and did not conceive that our paflage thither would cod: us above a month or five weeks fo that we imagined, we had near twice as much time as was neceflary for our purpofe. Indeed there was a bufinefs which we forefaw would occafion fome delay, but we flattered ourfelves that it would be difpatched in four or five days, and therefore could not interrupt our project. This was the recruiting of our water ; for the number of prifoners we had enter- tained on board, fince our leaving the Ifland of Fernandes , had fo far exhaufled our flock, that it was impoflible to think of ven- turing upon this paflage to the coafl of Mexico , till we had pro- cured a frefh fupply ; efpecially as at Paita, where we had fome hopes of getting a quantity, we did not find enough for our con- fumption during our flay there. It was for fome time a matter. E e 2 of ( 212 } of deliberation, where we fhould take in this neceflary article} but by confulting the accounts of former Navigators, and examin- ing our prifoners, we at laft refolved for the Ifland of Quibo, fitu- ated at the mouth of the bay of Panama : Nor was it but on good grounds that the Commodore conceived this to be the propereft place for watering the fquadron. Indeed, there was a fmall Ifland called Cocos, which was lefs out of our way than Quibo, where fome of the Buccaneers have pretended they found water ; but none of our prifoners knew any thing of it, and it was thought too dangerous to rifque the fafety of the fquadron, by expoflng ourfelves to the hazard of not meeting with water when we came there, on the mere authority of thefe legendary writers, of whofe mifreprefentations and falfities we had almoft daily experience. Befides, by going to Quibo we were not without hopes that fome of the enemies fliips bound to or from Panama might fall into our hands, particularly fuch of them as were put to fea, before they had any intelligence of our fquadron. Determined therefore by thefe reafons for Quibo, we directed our courfe northward, being eight fail in company, and confe- quently having the appearance of a very formidable fleet ; and on the 19th, at day-break, we difcovered Cape Blanco , bearing S. S. E. 4 - E, feven miles diftant. This Cape lies in the latitude of 4 0 : 15' South, and is always made by fliips bound either to wind- ward or to leeward ; fo that off this Cape is a moft excellent Ration to cruife upon the enemy. By this time we found that our laft prize, the Solidad, was far from anfwering the character given her of a good failor 5 and fhe and the Santa Perefa delaying us confide- rably, the Commodore commanded them both to be cleared of every thing that might prove ufeful to the reft of the fhips, and then to be burnt ; and having given proper inftrudtions, and a rendezvous to the Gloucejler and the other prizes, we proceeded in our courfe for Quibo } and, on the 2 2d in the morning, faw the Ifland of Plata , bearing Eaft, diflant four leagues. Here one of our prizes was ordered to (land clofe in with it, both to difcover if there were ( 213 ) were any fhips between that Ifland and the Continent, and likewife to look out for a flream of frefh water, which was reported to be there, and which would have faved us the trouble of going to g* uibo-y but fhe returned without having feen any fhip, or finding any water. At three in the afternoon point Manta bore S. E. by E. feven miles diflant ; and there being a town of the fame name in the neighbourhood. Captain Mitchel took this opportunity of fending away feveral of his prifoners from the Gloucejier in the Spanijh launch. The boats were now daily employed in difhri— buting provifions on board our prizes, to compleat their dock for fix months : And that the Centurion might be the better prepared to give the Manila fhip (one of which we were told was of an immenfe fize) a warm reception, the Carpenters were ordered to fix eight flocks in the main and fore-tops, which were properly fitted for the mounting of fwivel Guns. On the 25th we had a fight of the Ifland of Gallo , bearing E. S. E. p E, four leagues diflant ; and from hence we croffed the bay of Panama with a N. W. courfe, hoping that this would have carried us in a direCt line to the Ifland of ^ uibo . But we after- wards found that we ought to have flood more to the weflward for the winds in a fhort time began to incline to that quarter, and made it difficult to gain the Ifland. After paffing the equinoctial, (which we did on the 2 2d) and leaving the neighbourhood of the Cordilleras , and Handing more and more towards the IJlhmits y where the communication of the atmofphere to the eaflward and the weflward was no longer interrupted, we found in very few days an extraordinary alteration in the climate. For inflead of that uniform temperature, where neither the excefs of heat cr cold was to be complained of, we had now for feveral days toge- ther clofe and fultry weather, refembling what we had before met with on the coafl of Brazil , and in other parts between the tro- pics on the eaflern fide of America. We had befides frecuent calms and heavy rains j which we at firfl afcribed to the neighbour- hood of the line, where this kind of weather is generally found to prevail ( 214 ) prevail at all feafons of the year ; but obferving that it attended as to the latitude of feven degrees North, we were at length induced to believe, that the ftormy feafon, or, as the Spaniards call it, the Vandevals, was not yet over; though many writers, particularly Captain Shelvocke , pofitively affert, that this feafon begins in June, and is ended in November ; and our prifoners all affirmed the fame thing. But perhaps its end may not be always conftant, and it might laft this year longer than ufual. On the 27th, Captain Mitcbel having finished the clearing of his larged; prize, the was fcuttled, and fet on fire j but we ftill confin- ed of five fihips, and were fortunate enough to find them all good failors j fo that we never occafioned any delay to each other. Being now in a rainy climate, which we had been long difufed to, we found -it neceffary to caulk the decks and fides of the Centurion , to prevent the rain-water from running into her. On the 3d of December we had a view of the Ifland of Quibo ; the Eaft end of which then bore from us N. N. W, four leagues diftant, and the Ifland of Quicara W. N.W, at about the fame diftance. Here we ftruck ground with fixty-five fathom of line, the bottom confiding of grey fand, with black fpecks. There is hereafter infer ted (being contained in the fame plate with the view of the hill of Petaplan) a view of thefe two Iflands, where (<2) re- prefents the S. E. end of Quito, bearing N. by W. four leagues di- ftant : And (b) the Ifland of Quicara, which bears from the point (■a) W. S. W. l S, and is diftant from it four leagues, the point (a) being itfelf in the latitude of y° : 20 North. When we had thus got fight of the land, we found the wind to hang weflerly ; and therefore, night coming on, we thought it advifeable to ftand off till morning, as there are faid to be fome ftioals in the entrance of the channel. At fix the next morning point Mariato bore N. E. ~ three or four leagues diflant. In weathering this point all the fqua- dron, except the Centurion , were very near it j and the Gloucefter being the leewardmoft Ihip, was forced to tack and Hand to the fouthward, fo that we loft fight of her. At nine, the Ifland Se - ( aI 5 ) baco bore N. W. by N, four leagues didantj but the wind dill proving unfavourable, we were obliged to ply on and off for the Succeeding twenty-four hours, and were frequently taken aback. However, at eleven die next morning the wind happily fettled in the S. S. W, and we bore away for the S. S. E. end of the Ifland, and about three in the afternoon entered the Canal Bueno , pading round a fhoal which dretches off about two miles from the South point of the Ifland. This Canal Bueno , or Good Channel , is at lead fix miles in breadth j and as we had the wind large, we kept ima good depth of water, generally from twenty-eight to thirty-three fathom, and came not within a mile and a half didance of the breakers ; though, in all probability, if it had been neceffary, we might have ventured much nearer,, without incurring the lead danger. At feven in the evening we anchored in thirty-three fathom muddy ground j the South point of the Ifland bearing S. E. by S, a remarkable high part of the Ifland W. by N, and the Ifland Sebaco E. by N. Being thus arrived at this Ifland of £>uibo, the account of the place, and of our tranfadtions there, fhail be referred to the enfuing chapter. CHAP. ( 2l6 ) CHAP. VIII. Our proceedings at Quibo, with an account of the place. T H E next morning, after our anchoring, an officer was? difpatched on ffiore to difcover the watering jplace, who having found it, returned before noon; and then we fent the long boat for a load of water, and at the fame time we weighed and flood farther in with our fhips. At two we came again to an anchor in twenty-two fathom, with a bottom of rough gravel intermixed with broken fhells, the watering place now bear- ing from us N. W. i- N, only three quarters of a mile diflant. A plan of the road where we lay and of the Eafl end of the Ifland is annexed, where the foundings are laid down, fuch as we found them, the latitude of the S. E. point of the Ifland being, as hath been already mentioned, : 20 North. This Ifland of Quibo is extremely convenient for wooding and watering ; fince the trees grow clofe to the high-water mark, and a large rapid flream of frefh water runs over the fandy beach into the fea : So that we were little more than two days in laying in all the wood and water we wanted. The whole Ifland is of a very moderate height, excepting one part. It confifls of a conti- nued wood fpread all over the whole furface of the country, which preferves its verdure the year round. Amongfl the other wood, we found there abundance of caffia, and a few lime-trees. It appeared Angular to us, that confidering the climate and the fhel- ter, we fhould fee no other birds than parrots, parroquets, and mackaws ; indeed of thefe lafl there were prodigious flights. Next to thefe birds, the animals we found in mofc plenty were monkeys ;and guanoSj and thefe we frequently killed for food 5 for not- .4 withflanding A Plan of the east end of the wJSLAND OF , ijKi- <■ ,, >**« •.« ,♦«. tyAk 31- . i L ^ , ». . J * • fcuJtJA' X* V-*- < L- tAiw^ t a •-.*»• • . aaIf-v** tt-wJ. i »>• l L -■*- ” 4 - d C «.«MM{. tiAiA ^ • «- 4 - , :■&?*-'' *- 4 . 4 . t. »» > >- i^%-FreQi.' Water FrcQir Water Vifliermens Hutts Salt Lagoon: The Ifland. Quiveta A Scale of three v;H • The Ifland of Canales ( 2I 7 ) withflanding there were many herds of deer upon the place, yet the difficulty of penetrating the woods prevented our coming near them; fo that though we faw them often, we killed only two during our flay. Our prifoners affiired us, that this Ifland abounded with tygers ; and we did once difcover the print of a tyger’s paw upon the beach, but the tygers themfelves we never faw. The Spaniards too informed us, that there was frequentlyfound in the woods a mod: mifchievous ferpent, called the flying fnake, which they faid darted kfelf from the boughs of trees on either man or bead: that came within its reach ; and whofe ding, they believed, to be inevitable death. Befldes thefe dangerous land-animals, the fea hereabouts is infedied with great numbers of alligators of an extraordinary flze : And we often obferved a large kind of flat-fiffi, jumping a confiderable height out of the water, which we fuppofed to be the fiffi that is faid frequently to deftroy the pearl divers, by clafping them in its fins as they rife from the bottom ; and we were told that the divers, for their fecurity, are now always armed with a (harp knife, which, when they are entangled, they flick into the belly of the fiffi, and thereby difengage themfelves from its embraces. Whilft the ffiip continued here at anchor, the Commodore, attend- ed by fome of his officers, went in a boat to examine a bay which lay to the northward ; and they afterwards ranged all along the eafi- ern fide of the Ifland. And in the places where they put on ffiore in the courfe of this expedition, they generally found the foil to be extremely rich, and met with great plenty of excellent water. In particular, near the N. E. point of the Ifland, they difcovered a na- tural cafcade, which furpafled, as they conceived, every thine of this kind, which human art or induftry hath hitherto produced. It was a river of tranfparent water, about forty yards wide, which rolled down a declivity of near a hundred and fifty in length. The chan- nel it fell in was very irregular ; for it was entirely compofed of rock, both its fides and bottom being made up of large detached blocks ; and by thefe the courfe of the water was. frequently inter- h f rupted ; ( 2 1 8 ) irupted : For in Tome parts it ran Hoping with a rapid but uniform motion, while in others it tumbled over the ledges of rock? with a perpendicular defcent, AU the neighbourhood of this flream was a fine wood j and even the huge maffes of rock which over- hung the water, and which, by their various projections, formed the inequalities of the channel, were covered with lofty foreft trees. Whilfl the Commodore, with thofe accompanying him* were attentively viewing this place, and were remarking the dif- ferent blendings of the water, the rocks and the wood, there came in fight (as it were flill to heighten and animate the profpeCt) a prodigious flight of mackaws, which hovering over this fpot, and often wheeling and playing on the wing about it, afford- ed a mofl brilliant appearance, by the glittering of the fun on their variegated plumage ; fo that fome of the fpeCtators cannot refrain from a. kind of tranfport, when they recount the complicated beau- ties which occurred in this extraordinary water-fall. In. this expedition, which the boat made along the eaflern fide of the Ifland, though they difcovered no inhabitants, yet they faw many huts upon the fhore, and great heaps of fhells of fine mother of pearl fcattered up and down in different places : Thefe were the remains left by the pearl-fifhers from Panama, who often frequent this place in the fummer feafon : For the pearl oyfters, which are to be met with every where in the bay of Panama , do fo abound at ^ uibo , that by advancing a very little way into the fea* you might hoop down and reach them from the bottom. They are ufually very large, and out of curiofity we opened fome of them with a view of tailing them, but we found them extremely tough and unpalatable. And having mentioned thefe oyflers and the pearl-fifhery, I mull beg leave to recite a few particulars re- lating to that fubjedt. The oyflers mofl productive of pearls are thofe found in eonfi- derable depths ; for though what are taken up by wading near fhore are of the fame fpecies, yet the pearls they contain are few in number and very fmail. It is faid too, that the pearl partakes in fome de- gree ( 2J9 ) gree of the quality of the bottom on which the oyfcer h lodged \ fo that if the bottom be muddy, the pearl is dark and ill-coloured. The taking up oyfters from great depths for the fake of their pearls, is a work performed by Negro flaves, of which the inha- bitants of Panama and the neighbouring coaft formerly kept vaft numbers, which were carefully trained to this bufinefs. Thefe are faid not to be efteemed compleat divers ; till they have by degrees been able to protrad: their ftay under water fo long, that the blood gufhes out from their nofe, mouth and ears. And it is the traditi- on of the country, that when this accident has once befallen them, they dive for the future with much greater facility than before ; and they have no apprehenfion either that any inconvenience can attend it, the bleeding generally hopping of itfelf, or that there is any probability of their being ever fubjeCt to it a fecond time. But to return from this digreflion. Though the pearl oyfter, as hath been faid, was incapable of being eaten; yet that defeCt was more than repaid by the turtle, a dainty which the fea at this place furnifhed us with in the greateft plenty and perfection. There are generally reckoned four fpecies of turtle ; that is, the trunk turtle, the loggerhead, the hawks- bill, and the green turtle. The two firft are rank and un- wholefome ; the hawkfoill (which affords the tortois-fhell) is but indifferent food, though better than the other two ; but the green turtle is generally efteemed, by the greatefc part of thofe who are acquainted with its tafte, to be the moff delicious of all eatables; and that it is a moff wholfome food, we are amply con- vinced by our own experience: For we fed on this laft fpecies, or the green turtle, near four months ; and confequently had it been in any degree noxious, its ill effeCts could not poffibly have efcaped us. At this Iiland we caught what quantity we pleafed with great facility ; for as they are an amphibious animal, and get on fhore to lay their eggs, which they generally depofit in a large hole in the fand, juft above the high-water mark, covering them up, and leaving them to be hatched by the heat of the fun, we ufually F f 2 difperfed ( 220 ) difperfed feveral of our men along the beach, whofe bufmefs it was to turn them on their backs when they came to land j and the tur- tle being thereby prevented from getting away, we brought them off at our leifure. By this means we not only fecured a fufficient flock for the time we flayed on the Ifland, but we carried a num- ber of them with us to fea, which proved of great fervice both in lengthning out our flore of provifion, and in heartning the whole crew with an almofl conflant fupply of frefh and palatable food.. For the turtle being large, they generally weighing about 200 lb. weight each, thofe we took with us lafled near a month : So that before our flore was fpent, we met with a frefh recruit on the coafl of Mexico , where in the heat of the day we often faw great num- bers of them fail afleep, floating on the furface of the water. Upon difcovering them, we ufually fent out our boat with a man in the bow, who was a dextrous diver : And as the boat came within a few yards of the turtle, the diver plunged into the water, taking care to rife clofe upon it, when feizing the fhell near the tail, and prefling down the hinder parts, the turtle, was thereby awakened, and began to flrike with its claws, which motion fupported both it and the diver, till the boat came up and took them in. By this management we never wanted turtle for the fucceeding four months in which we continued at feaj and though, when at the Ifland of Quito, we had already been three months on board, without other- wife putting our foot on fhore, than in the few days we flayed there (except thofe employed in the attack of Fait a) yet in the whole feven months, from our leaving 'Juan Fernandes to our anchoring in the harbour of Ckequetan , we buried no more in the whole fqua- dron than two men ; a mofl inconteflable proof, that the turtle, on which we fed for the lafl four months of this term, was atleafl innocent, if not fomething more. Confidering the fcarcity of other provifions on fome part of the coafl of the fouth feas, it appears wonderful, that -a fpecies of food fo very palatable and falubrious as turtle, and there fo much abound- ing, fliould be profcribed by the Spaniards as unwholefome, and little { 221 1 little lefs than poifionous. Perhaps the ttrange appearance of this animal may have been the foundation of this ridiculous and fuper- ftitious averfion, which is ftrongly rooted in the inhabitants of thofe countries, and of which we had many inftances during the courfe of this navigation. I have already obferved, that we put our Spanijh prifoners on fhore at Paita , and that the Gloucejler fent theirs to Manta j but as we had taken in our prizes fome Indian and Negro Haves, we did not difmifs them with their matters, but continued them on board, as our crews were thin, to attitt in navigating our fhips. Thefe poor people being poflefled with the prejudices of the country they came from, were aftoniflled at our feeding on turtle, and feemed fully perfuaded that it would foon dettroy us y but finding that none of us died, nor even differed in our health by a continuation of this diet, they at latt got fo far the better of their averfion, as to be perfuaded to tatte it, to which the abfence of all other kinds of frefh provifions might not a little contribute. However, it was with great reluctance, and very fparingly, that they firft began to eat of it : But the relifh improving upon them by degrees, they at latt grew extremely fond of it, and preferred it to every other kind of food, and often felicitated each other on the happy experience they had acquired, and the luxurious and plentiful repatts it would be always in their power to procure, when they fhould again return back to their country. Thofe who are acquainted with the manner of life of thefe unhappy wretches, need not be told, that next to large draughts of fpirituous liquors, plenty of tolerable food is the greateft joy they know, and con- sequently the difcovering the means of being always fupplied with what quantity they pleafed, of a food more delicious to the palate than any their haughty Lords and Matters could indulge in, was doubtlefs a circumftance, which they confidered as the mott for- tunate that could befal them. After this digrettion, which the prodigious quantity of turtle on this Illand of %uibo 3 and the ttore of it we thence took to fea, in fome mcafure led me into, I ttiall now return to our own proceedings. In ( 222 ) In three days time we had compleated our bufinefs at this place, and were extremely impatient to depart, that we might arrive time enough on the coaft of Mexico to intercept the Manila galeon. But the wind being contrary, detained us a night, and the next day, when we got into the offing (which we did through the fame channel by which we entered) we were obliged to keep hovering about the Ifland, in hopes of getting fight of the Gloucejier , who,' as I have in the laft chapter mentioned, was feparated from us on our firft arrival. It was the 9th of December , in the morning, when we put to fea, and continuing to the fouthward of the Ifland, looking out for the Gloucefler , we, on the 10th, at five in the after- noon, difcerned a fmall fail to the northward of us, to which we gave chace, and coming up with her, took her. She proved to be a bark from Panama , called the Jefu Nazareno. She had no- thing on board but fome oakum, about a tun of rock fait, and between 30 and 40/. in fpecie ; moll of it confifting of fmall filver money, intended for purchafing a cargoe of provifions at Cheripe , an inconfiderable village on the Continent. And on occafion of this prize I cannot but obferve, for the ufe of future cruifers, that had we been in want of provifions, we had by this capture an obvious method of fupplying ourfelves. For at Cheripe , there is a conftant ftore of provifions prepared for the veflels who go thither every week from Panama , the mar- ket of Panama being chiefly fupplied from thence : So that by putting a few of our hands on board our prize, we might eafily have feized a large quantity without any hazard, fince Cheripe is a place of no ftrength. As provifions are the fliaple commodity of that place and of its neighbourhood, the knowledge of this circumftance may be of great ufe to fuch cruifers, as find their provifions grow fcant, and yet are defirous of continuing on that coafl: as long as poffible. But to return : On the 1 2th of December we were at lafl: relieved from the per- plexity we had buffered, occafioned by the feparation of the Glou- ■cefier j f 223 ) cejler j for on that day the joined us, and informed us, that in tacking to the fouthward, on our firft arrival, the had fprung her fore-top-mafl, which had difabled her from, working to windward* and prevented her from joining us fooner. And now we fcuttled and funk the Jefu Nazareno, the prize we took lafl ^ and having the greatest impatience to get into a proper flation for intercepting the Manila galeon, we flood all together to the weflward, leaving the Ifland of Quibo (notwithflanding all the impediments we met with) about nine days after our firft coming in fight of it. € H A F. ( 22 + ) CHAP. IX. From Qutbo to the coafl: of Mexico. O N the 1 2th of December we flood from Quibo to the weft- ward, and the fame day the Commodore delivered frefh in- ftrudtions to the Captains of the men of war, and the com- manders of our prizes.; appointing them the rendezvoufes they were to make, and the courfes they were to fleer in cafe of a feparation. And firft, they were directed to ufe all poffible difpatch in getting to the northward of the harbour of Acapulco , where they were to endeavour to fall in with the land, between the latitudes of 1 8 and 19 degrees ; from thence, they were to beat up the coafl at eight or ten leagues diflance from the fhore, till they came a-breafl of Cape Cor lent es , in the latitude of 20° ; 20 . After they ar- rived there, they were to continue cruifing on that flation till the 1 4th of February ; when they were to depart for the middle Iiland of the Fres Marias , in the latitude of 21 0 : 25^ bearing from Cape Corientes N.W. by N, twenty-five leagues diflant. And if at this Ifland they did not meet the Commodore, they were there to recruit their wood and water, and then immediately to proceed for the Ifland of Macao , on the coafl of China. Thefe orders being diflributed to all the fhips, we had little doubt of arriving foon upon our intended flation ; as we expedted upon the encreafing our offing from Quibo, to fall in with the regular trade-wind. But, to our extreme vexation, we were baffled for near a month, either by tempefluous weather from the weflern quarter, or by dead calms and heavy rains, attended with a fultry air ; fo that it was the 25 th of December before we faw the Ifland of Cocos , which ac- cording to our reckoning was only a hundred leagues from the Conti- nent ; and even then we had the mortification to make fo little way, a • that ( 223 ) that we did not lofe fight of it again in five days. This Ifiand we found to be in the latitude of 5 0 : 20' North. It has a high hum- mock towards the weftern part, which defcends gradually, and at laft terminates in a low point to the eaftward. From the Ifiand of Cocos we flood W. by N, and were till the 9th of January in running an hundred leagues more. We had at firft flattered our- felves, that the uncertain weather and Weftern gales we met with were owing to the neighbourhood of the Continent j from which, as we got more diftant, we expected every day to be relieved, by falling in with the eaftern trade-wand : But as our hopes were fo long baffled, and our patience quite exhaufted, we began at length to defpair of fucceeding in the great purpofe we had in view, that of intercepting the Manila galeon. This produced a general d ejection amongft us, as we had at firft confidered the project as alrnoft infallible, and had indulged ourfelves in the moft bound- lefs hopes of the advantages we fhould thence receive. However, onr defpondency was at laft fomewhat alleviated, by a favourable change of the wind 5 for, on the 9th of January , a gale fprung up the firft time from the N. E, and on this we took the Car- melo in tow, as the Gloucefier did the Car min ^ making all the fail we could to improve the advantage, becaufe we ftill fufpedted that it was only a temporary gale, which would not laft long j though the next day we had the fatisfadtion to find, that the wind did not only continue in the fame quarter, but blew with fo much brifk- nefs and fteadinefs, that we no longer doubted of its being the true trade-wind. As we now advanced a-pace towards our ftation, our hopes began again to revive, and our former defpair by degrees gave place to more fanguine prejudices : Infomuch that though the cuftomary feafon of the arrival of the galeon at Acapulco was already elapfed ; yet we were by this time unreafonable enough to flatter ourfelves, that fome accidental delay might, for our advantage, lengthen out her paflage beyond its ufual limits. When we got into the trade-wind, we found no alteration in it till the 17th o {January, when we were advanced 'to the latitude G g of ( 226 ) of i2° : 50', but on that day it fhifted to the weflward' of the North : This change we imputed to our having haled up too foon, though we then efteemed ourfelves full feventy leagues from the coaft ; whence, and by our former experience, we were fully fatisfied, tliat the trade-wind doth not take place, but at a con- fiderable diftance from the Continent. After this, the wind was not fo favourable to us as it had been : However, we flill con- tinued to advance, and, on the 26th of January, being then to the northward of Acapulco , we tacked and flood to the eaflward, with a view of making the land. In the preceding fortnight we caught fome turtle on the furface of tire water, and feveral dolphins, bonitos, and albicores. One day, as one of the fail-maker's mates was fifhing from the end of the gib-boom, he loft his hold and dropped into the fea and the fhip, which was then going at the rate of fix or feven knots, went directly over him : But as we had the Carmelo in tow, we inflantly called out to the people on board her, who threw him over feveral ends of ropes, one of which he fortunately caught hold of, and twilling it round his arm, he was thereby haled into the fhip, without having received any other injury than a. wrench in his arm, of which he foon recovered.. When, on the 26th o t January, we flood to the eaflward, we expected, by our reckonings, to have fallen in with the land on the 28th yet though the weather was perfectly clear, we had no fight of it at fun-fet, and. therefore we continued, our courfe, not doubting but we fhould fee it by the next morning. About ten at night we difcovered a light on the larboard bow, bearing from us N. N. E. The Tryal’s prize too, who was about a mile a head of us, made a fignal at the fame time for feeing a fail : As we had none of us any doubt but what we faw was a Chip's light, we were all extremely animated v/ith a firm perfuafion, that it was the Manila galeon, which had been fo long the objeCt of our wifhes : And what added to our alacrity, was our expectation of meeting with two of them inflead of one ; for we took it for grant- ed, that the light in view was carried in the top of one fhip for a direction ( 2 2'7 ) direction to her confort. We immediately caff off the Cdirmeio^ and preffed forward with all our canvafs, making a fignal for the Gloucejler to do the fame. Thus we chafed the light, keeping all our hands at their refpe&ive quarters, under an expectation of en- gaging within half an hour, as we fometimes conceived the chace to be about a mile diffant, and at other times to he within reach of our guns j for forne on board us pofitively averred, that befides the light, they could plainly difcern her fails. The Commodore himfelf was fo fully perfuaded that we fhould be fbon along fide of her, that he fent for his firff Lieutenant, who commanded be- tween decks, and directed him to fee all the great guns loaded with two round- fhot for the fir ft broadfide, and after that with one round-fhot and one grape, ftriCtly charging him, at the fame time, not to fuffer a gun to be fired, till he, the Commodore, fhould give orders, which he informed the Lieutenant would not be till we arrived within piftol-fhot of the enemy. In this conffant and eager attention we continued all night, always prefuming that another quarter of an hour would bring us up with this Manila fhip, whofe wealth, and that of her fuppofed confort, we now eftimated by round millions. But when the morning broke, and day-light came on, we were moff ftrangely and vexatioufiy difappointed, by find- ing that the light which had occafioned all this buftle and expec- tancy, was only a fire on the Chore. It muff be owned, the circum- fiances of this deception were fo extraordinary as to be fcarcely credible ; for, by our run during the night, and the diffance of the land in the morning, there was no doubt to be made but this fire, when we firff difcovered it, was above twenty-five leagues from us : And yet, I believe, there was no perfon on board, who doubted of its being a fhip’s light, or of its being near at hand. It was indeed upon a very high mountain, and continued burning for feveral days afterwards ; however, it was not a vulcano, but rather, as I fuppofe, a traCt of ftubble or heath fet on fire for fome purpofe of agriculture. At fun-rifing, after this mortifying delufion, we found ourfelves about nine leagues off the land, which extended from the N. W. Cg 2 to ( 228 ) to E. i N. On this land we obferved two remarkable hum- mocks, fuch as are ufually called paps, which bore North from us : Thefe a Spanijh Pilot and two Indians , who were the only perfons amongft us that pretended to have traded in this part of the world, affirmed to be over the harbour of Acapulco. Indeed, we very much doubted their knowledge of the coaft; for we found thefe paps to be in the latitude of iy° : 56', whereas thofe over Acapulco are faid to be in 17 degrees only ; and we afterwards found our fufpicions of their fkill to be well grounded : However, they were very confident, and afiured us, that the height of the mountains was itfelf an infallible mark of the harbour ; the coaft, as they pretended (though falfly) being generally low to the eaft- ward and weftward of it. Being now in the track of the Manila galeon, it was a great doubt with us (as it was near the end of 'January') whether the was or was not arrived : But examining our prifoners about it, they afiured us, that fire was fometimes known to come in after the mid- dle of February ■ and they endeavoured to perfuade us, that the fire we had feen on fiiore was a proof that fire was as yet at fea, it being cuftomary, as they faid, to make ufe of thefe fires as fignals for her direction, when fire continued longer out than ordinary. On this reafoning of our prifoners, ftrengthened by our propenfity to be- lieve them in a matter which fo pleafingly flattered our wifhes, we refolved to eruife for her fome days ; and we accordingly fpread our flfips at the diftance of twelve leagues from the coaft, in fuch a manner, that it was impofiible fhe fhould pafs us unobferved : However, not feeing her foon, we were at intervals inclined to fuf- pe£t that fhe had gained her port already ; and as we now began to want a harbour to refrefh our people, the uncertainty of our pre- fent fituation gave us great uneafmefs, and we were very folicitous to get fome pofitive intelligence, which might either let us at liberty to confult our neceftities, if the galeon was arrived, or might ani- mate us to continue our prefent eruife with chearfulnefs, if fhe was not. With this view the Commodore, after examining our pri- i ,: foners ( 229 ) foners very particularly, rCfolved to fend a boat, under colour of the night, into the harbour of Acapulco , to fee if the Manila fhip was there or not j one of the Indians being very pofitive that this might be done without the boat itfelf being difeovered. To execute this' enterprize, (the barge was difpatched the 6th of February , carry- ing a fufficient crew and two officers, as alfo a SpaniJJj Pi- lot, with the Indian who had infilled on the facility of this project, and had undertaken to conduit it. Our barge did not return to us again till the eleventh, when the officers acquainted Mr. Anfon , that, agreeable to our fufpicion, there was nothing like a harbour in the place where the Spani/h Pilots had at firft aflerted’ Acapulco to lie ; that after they had fatisfied themfelves in this particular, they fleered to the eaftward, in hopes of difeovering it s and had coafled along fhore thirty-two leagues ; that in this whole range they met chiefly with fandy beaches of a great length, over which the fea broke with fo much violence, that it was impoffible for a boat to land ; that at the end of their run they could juft dis- cover two paps at a very great diftance to the eaftward, which from their appearance and their latitude, they concluded to be thofe in the neighbourhood of Acapulco ; but that not having a fufficient quantity of frefh water and provifion for their paflage thither and back again, they were obliged to return to the Commodore, to ac- quaint him with their difappointment. On this intelligence we all made fail to the eaftward, in order to get into the neighbourhood of that port ; the Commodore being determined to fend the barge a fe- eond time upon the fame enterprize, when we were arrived within a moderate diftance. Accordingly the next day, v/hich was the 1 2th of February , we being by that time confiderably advanced ; the barge was again difpatched, and particular inftru&ions given to the officers to preferve themfelves from being feen from the fhore. On the 13th we efpied a high land to the eaftward, which we firft imagined to be that over the harbour of Acapulco j but we after- wards found that it was the high land of Seguateneio , where there is a fmall harbour, of which we fhall have occafion to make more ample ( 23 ° ) ample mention hereafter. We waited fix days, from the depar- ture of our barge, without any news of her, fo that we began to be uneafy for her fafety j but, on the 7th day, that is, on the 19th of February , die returned : When the officers informed the Com- modore, that they had difcovered the harbour of Acapidco^ which they efteemed to bear from us E. S. E. at lead; fifty leagues diftant : That on the 17th, about two in the morning, they were got within, the Ifiand that lies at the mouth of the harbour, and yet neither the SpaniJJj Pilot, nor the Indian , could give them any information where they then were 5 but that while they were lying upon their oars in fufpence what to do, being ignorant that they were then at the very place they fought for, they difcerned a fmall light near the furface of the water, on which they infiantly plied their pad- dles, and moving as filently as poffible towards it, they found it to be in a fifiiing canoe, which they furprized, with three Negroes ■that belonged to it. Itfeems the Negroes at firfi: attempted to jump overboard 3 and being fo near the lhore they would eafily have fwam to land ; but they were prevented by prefenting a piece at them, on which they readily fubmitted, and were taken into the barge. The officers further added, that they had immediately turned the canoe adrift againfi: the face of a rock, where it would inevitably be daffied to pieces by the fury of the fea : This they did to deceive thole who perhaps might be fent from the town to learch after the canoe 3 for upon feeing feveral remains of a wreck, they would immediately conclude that the people on board her had been drowned, and would have no fufpicion of their having fallen into our hands. When the crew of the barge had taken this precau- tion, they exerted their utmoft ftrength in pulling out to fea, and by dawn of day had gained fuch an offing, as rendered it impoffible for them to be feen from the coaft. Having now gotten the three Negroes in our poffeffion, who were not ignorant of the tranfadtions at Acapulco , we were foon fatif- fied about the moll; material points which had long kept us in fiffi pence.; On examining them we found, that we were indeed difap- pointed ( 231 ) pointed in our expectation of intercepting the galeon before her arri- val at Acapulco j but we learnt other circumftances which hill re- vived our hopes, and which, we then conceived, would more than balance the opportunity we had already loft : For tho’ our Negroe. prifoners informed us that the galeon arrived at Acapulco on our 9 th of January , which was about twenty days before we fell in with this coaft ; yet they at the fame time told us, that the galeon had delivered her cargoe, and was taking in water and provilions in order to return, and that the Viceroy of Mexico had by proclamation, fix- ed her departure from Acapulco to the 1 4th of March , N. S. This, laft news was moft joyfully received by us ; fince we had no doubt but fhe muft certainly fall into our hands, and it was much more eligible to feize her on her return, than it would have been to have taken her before her arrival, as the fpecies for which fhe had fold her cargoe and which fhe would now have on board, would be prodigioufiy more to be efteemed by us than the cargoe itfelf ; great part of which would have perifhed on our hands, and none of it could have been difpofed of by us at fo advantageous a mart as- Acapulco . Thus we were a fecond time engaged in an eager expectation of meeting with this Manila fhip, which, by the fame of its wealth,, we had been taught to confider as the moft defirable capture that was to be made on any part of the ocean. But fince all our future projects will be in lome fort regulated with a view to the poffcfiion of this celebrated galeon, and fince the commerce which is carried on by means of thefe vefiels between the city of Manila and the port of Acapulco is perhaps the moft valuable, in proportion to its quantity, ©f any in the known world ; I fhall endeavour, in the enfuing chap- ter, to give as circumftantial an account as I can of all the particu- lars relating thereto, both as it is a matter in which I conceive the public to be in fome degree interefted, and as I flatter myfelf, that from the materials which have fallen into my hands, I am enabled to defcribe it with more difiinCtnefs than has hitherto been done s at lead: in our language. C H A F, ( 232 ) CHAP. X. An account of the commerce carried on between the city of Mattila on the Ifland of Luconia , and the port of Acapulco on the Ccaft of Mexico . A BOUT the end of the 1 5th Century and the beginning of the 1 6th, the fearching after new countries and new branches of commerce was the reigning paflion among feveral of the European Princes. But thofewho engaged mod deeply andfortunatelyin thefe purfuits were the Kings of Spain and Portugal the fird of them having difcovered the immenfe and opulent Con- tinent of America and its adjacent Iflands, whild the other, by doubling the Cape of Good Hope , had opened to his fleets a paflage to the fouthern coad of Afia , ufually called the Eafl-Indies , and by his fettlements in that part of the globe, became poflefled of •many of the manufactures and natural productions with which it abounded, and which, for fome ages, had been the wonder and delight of the more polifhed and luxurious part of mankind. In the mean time, thefe two Nations of Spain and Portugal \ who were thus profecuting the fame views, though in different quarters of the world, grew extremely jealous of each other, and -became apprehenfive of mutual encroachments. And therefore to quiet their jealoufies, and to enable them with more tranquillity to purfue the propagation of the Catholick Faith in thefe didant coun- tries, (they having both of them given didinguifhed marks of their zeal for their mother church, by their butchery of innocent Pagans) Pope Alexander VI. granted to the Spanifh Crown the property and dominion of all places, either already difcovered, or that fhould be -difcovered an hundred leagues to the wedward of the Iflands of Azores^ leaving all the unknown countries to the eadward of this limit, ( 233 ) limit, to the induftry and difquifition of the Portuguefe : And this boundary being afterwards removed two hundred and fifty- leagues more to the weftward, by the agreement of both Nations, it was imagined that this regulation would have fuppreffed all the feeds of future contefls. For the Spaniards prefumed, that the Portuguefe would be hereby prevented from meddling with their colonies in America .* And the Portuguefe fuppofed that their Eafl- Indian fettlements, and particularly the fpice Iflands, which they had then newly found out, were for ever fecured from any attempts of the Spanijh Nation. But it feems the infallibility of the Holy Father had, on this occafion, deferted him, and for want of being more converfant in geography, he had not forefeen that the Spaniards , by purfuing their difcoveries to the Weft, and the Portuguefe to the Eaft, might at laft meet with each other, and be again embroiled j as it actually happened within a few years afterwards. For Ferdinand Magellan , an officer in the King of Portugal's fervice, having received fome* difguft from the Court, either by the defalcation of his pay, or by having his parts, as he conceived, too cheaply confidered, lie entered into the fervice of the King of Spain. As he appears to have been a man of ability, he was defirous of fignalizing his talents in fome enterprize, which might prove extremely vexatious to his former Mafters, and might teach them to eftimate his worth from the greatnefs of the mifchief he brought upon them ; this being the moft obvious and natural turn of all fugitives, more efpecially of thofe, who, being really men of capacity, have quitted their country by reafon of the fmall account that has been made of them., Magellan, in purfuance of thefe vindicative views, knowing that the Portuguefe confidered their traffic to the fpice iflands as their moft important acquifition in the Eaft, refolved with himfelf to inftigate the Court of Spain to an attempt, which, by ftill pufhing their difcoveries to the weftward, would give them a right to inter- fere both in the property and commerce of thofe renowned coun- tries j and the King of Spain approving of this project, Magellan , I I h in ( 23 + ) in the year 1519, fet fail from the port of Sevil, in order to carry this enterprize into execution. He had with him a confiderable force, confining of five fhips and two hundred and thirty-four men, with which he flood for the coafl of South America , and ranging along fliore, he at length, towards the end of Ottober, 1520, had the good fortune to difcover thofe Streights, which have fincc been denominated from him, and which opened him a paflage into the South-Seas. This, which was the firft part of his fcheme, be- ing thus happily accomplifhed, he, after fome flay on the coafl of Peru, fet fail again to the weflward, with a view of falling in with the fpice iflands. In this extenfive run acrofs the Pacific ocean, he firfl difcovered the Ladrones or Marian Iflands ; and continuing on his courfe, he at length reached the Philippine Iflands, which are the mofl eaflern part of Afia , where, venturing on fhore in an hoflile manner, and fkirmifhing with the Indians , he was flain. By the death of Magellan , his original project of fecuring fome of the fpice iflands was defeated j for thofe who were left in com- mand contented themfelves with ranging through them, and pur- chafing fome fpices from the natives ; after which they returned home round the Cape of Good Hope , being the firfl fhips which had ever furrounded this terraqueous globe j and thereby demonflrated, by a palpable experiment obvious to the groflefl and mofl vulgar capacity, the reality of its long difputed fpherical figure. But though Spain did not hereby acquire the property of any of the fpice iflands, yet the difcovery of the Philippines , made in this expedition, was thought too confiderable to be neglected ; fince thefe were not far diflant from thofe places which produced fpices, and were very well fituated for the Chinefe trade, and for the com- merce of other parts of India. A communication therefore was foon eflablifhed, and carefully fupported between thefe Iflands and the Spanijh colonies on the coafl of Peru : Whence the city of Manila , (which was built on the Ifland of Luconia , the chief of the Philip- pines') became in a fhort time the mart for all Indian commodities, which were bought up by the inhabitants, and were annually fent to ( 23 5 ) to the South-Seas to be there vended on their account : And the returns of this commerce to Manila being principally made in filver, the place by degrees grew extremely opulent, and its trade fo far encreafed, as to engage the attention of the Court of Spain , and to be frequently controlled and regulated by royal edicts. In the infancy of this trade, it was carried on from the port of Callao to the city of Manila , in which navigation the trade-wind continually favoured them j fo that notwithstanding thefe places were diftant betweeen three and four thoufand leagues, yet the voyage was often made in little more than two months : But then the return from Manila was extremely troublefome and tedious, and is faid to have fometimes lafted above a twelve-month ; which, if they pretended to ply up within the limits of the trade-wind, is not at all to be wondered at. Indeed though it is aflerted, that in their firft voyages they were fo imprudent and unfkilful as to at- tempt this courfe j yet that route was foon laid afide by the advice, as it is faid, of a Jefuit, who perfuaded them to fteer to the north- ward till they got clear of the trade-winds, and then by the favour of the wefterly winds, which generally prevail in high latitudes, to Stretch away for the coaft of California. This we know hath been the practice for at leaf! a hundred and fixty years pad: j as Sir Tho- mas Cavendif , in the year 1586, engaged off the South end of California a veffel bound from Manila to the American coaft. And it was in compliance with this new plan of navigation, and to fhorten the run both backwards and forwards, that the Staple of this commerce to and from Manila was removed from Callao on the coaft of Peru , to the port of Acapulco on the coaft of Mexico , where it continues fixed to this time. Such was the commencement, and fuch were the early regula- tions of this commerce j but its prefent condition being a much more interefting fubjedt, I muft beg leave to dwell longer on this head, and to be indulged in a more particular narration, beginning Hh 2 with ( 23 6 ) 'with a- defcriptioii of the Ifland of Luconia , and of the port and bay of Manila . The Ifland of Luconia y though fituated in the latitude of 15* North, is efteemed to be in general extremely healthy, and the water, that is found upon it, is faid to be the beft in the world : It produces all the fruits of the warm climates, and abounds in ar moft excellent breed of horfes, fuppofed to be carried thither firft from Spain : It is very well feated for the Indian and Chinefe trade 5 and the bay and port of Manila , which lies on its weftern fide, iat perhaps the moft remarkable on the whole globe, the bay being a. large circular bafon, near ten leagues in diameter, great part of it entirely land-locked. On the eaft fide of this bay ftands the city of Manila y which is large and populous - y and which, at the beginning of this war, was only au open place, its principal de- fence confifting in a fmall fort, which was almoft furrounded 011 every fide by houfes ; but they have lately made confiderable ad- ditions to its fortifications, though I have not yet learnt after what manner. The port, peculiar to the city, is called Cabite y and lies near two leagues to the fouthward j and in this port all the fhips employed far the Acapulco trade are ufually ftationed. As 1 have never feen but one engraved plan of this bay, and' that in an un- common collection, I have hereafter added, towards the begin- ning of the third book, a plan which fell into my hands, and which differs confiderably from that already published : But I can- not pretend to decide which of the two is moft to be relied on. The city of Manila itfelf is in a healthy fituation, is well water- ed, and is in the neighbourhood of a very fruitful and, plentiful country j but as the principal bufinefs of this place is its trade to Acapulco , it lies under fome disadvantage, from the difficulty there is in getting to fea to the eaftward : For the pafiage is among iflands and through channels where the Spaniards y by reafon of their unfkil- fulnefs in marine affairs, wafte much time, and are often in great dan- ger. Thefe inconveniencies will be better apprehended by the reader from PlauXXVt A Chart of the Channel in the Philippine Islands t/rouyf m/uc/ t/r Manila Galcon pajs&_ toye/fer writ/ f/c ntf/n rent ISLANDS ■ Ca" ] Wcador 'Laguna de Bay t i/efiifaitit it< fa ihf#— °d>-Efpiriui Wkifio I-V; I w I / ) a A UM> H Cs. \ ( Hi ) from the annexed draught of the Ifland of Luconta, and of its neigh- bouring ifles, which was taken from the enemy, and had been new- ly drawn and coffered but a fhort time before. The trade carried on from this place to China and different parts of India, is principally for fuch commodities as are intended to fup- ply the Kingdoms of Mexico and Peru. Thefe are fpices, all forts of Chinefe lilks and manufactures j particularly filk dockings, of which I have heard that nd lefs than fifty thoufand pair were the ufiial number fhipped in each eargoe j vaft quantities of Indian ' duffs, as callicoes and chints, which are much worn in America , together With other minuter articles j as goldfmiths work, &c.. which is principally wrought at the city of Manila itfelf by the Chinefe j for it is faid there are at leafl twenty thoufand Chinefe who conflantly refide there, either as fervants, manufacturers, or brokers.. All thefe different commodities are collected at Manila , thence to be tranfported annually in one or more fhips, to the port of Acapulco , in the Kingdom of Mexico. This trade to Acapulco is not laid open to all the inhabitants of Manila , but is confined by very particular regulations, fomewhat analogous to thofe by which the trade of the regifter fhips from Cadiz to the Wejl-Indies is re ft rained. The fhips employed herein are found by the King of Spain, Who pays the officers and crew j and thetunnage is divided into a certain number of bales, all of the fame fize : Thefe are diftributed amongfl the Convents at Ma- nila, but principally to the Jefuits, as a donation, to fupport their millions for the propagation of the Catholick Faith ; and the Con- vents have hereby a right to embark fuch a quantity of goods on board the Manila fhip, as the tannage of their bales amounts to ; or if they chufe not to be concerned in trade themfelves, they have the power of felling this privilege to others: Nor is it uncommon when the Merchant to whom they fell their fhare is unprovided of a flock, for the Convents to lend him eonfiderable fums of money on bottomry. ( 2 3 8 ) The trade is by the royal edicts limited to a certain value, which the annual cargoe ought not to exceed. Some Spanijh manufcripts, I have feen, mention this limitation to be 600,000 dollars ; but the annual cargoe does certainly furpafs this fum j and though it may be difficult to fix its exaCt value, yet from many comparifons I con- clude, that the return cannot be much ffiort of three millions of dollars. As it is fufficiently obvious, that the greatefl ffiare of the treafure, returned from Acapulco to Manila, does not remain in that place, but is again difperfed into different parts of India j and as all European Nations have generally efteemed it good policy to keep their Ame- rican fettlements in an immediate dependence on their mother country, without permitting them to carry on diredtly any gainful traffick with other powers ; thefe confiderations have occafioned many remonflrances to be prefented to the Court of Spain again# this Indian trade, allowed to the Kingdom of Mexico. It has been urged, that the filk manufactures of Valencia and other parts of Spain are hereby greatly prejudiced, and the linnens carried from Cadiz much injured in their fale : Since the Chinefe filks coming al- mofl diredtly to Acapulco , can be afforded confiderably cheaper there than any European manufactures of equal goodnefs j and the cottons from the Coromondel coaft, make the European linnens nearly ufelefs. So that the Manila trade renders both Mexico and Peru lefs dependent upon Spam for a fupply of their neceffities than they ought to bej and exhaufls thofe countries of a con- fiderable quantity of filver, the greatefl part of which, were this trade prohibited, would center in Spain , either in payment for Spa- nifh commodities, or in gains to the SpaniJJj Merchant : Whereas now the only advantage which arifes from it is, the enriching the Jefuits and a few particular perfons befides, at the other extremity of the world. Thefe arguments did fo far influence Don Jofepb Patinho , who was formerly prime Minifler, and an enemy to the Je- fuits, that about the year 1725, he had refolved to abolifh this trade, and to have permitted no Indian commodities to be introduced into ( 239 ) into any of the Spanijh ports in the Weft-Indies , except fuch as were brought thither by the regifter fhips from Europe. But the powerful intrigues of the Jefuits prevented this regulation from taking place. This trade from Manila to Acapulco and back again, is ufuaily carried on in one or at moft two annual fhips, which fet fail from Manila about July, and arrive at Acapulco in the December , Janu- ary , or February following ; and having there difpofed of their effedts, return for Manila fometime in March , where they generally arrive in June j fo that the whole voyage takes up very near an entire year. For this reafon, though there is often no more than one fhip freighted at a time, yet there is always one ready for the fea when the other arrives j and therefore the commerce at Manila is provided with three or four flout fhips, that, in cafe of any ac- cident, the trade may not be fufpended. The largeft of thefe fhips, whofe name I have not learnt, is defcribed as little lefs than one of our firfl rate men of war, and indeed fhe mull be of an enormous fize j as it is known, that when fhe was employed with other fhips from the fame port, to cruife for our China trade, fhe had no lefs than twelve hundred men on board. Their other fhips, tho* far inferior in bulk to this, are yet flout large veffels-, of the bur- then of twelve hundred tun and upwards, and ufuaily carry from, three hundred and fifty to fix hundred hands, paffengers included, with fifty odd guns. As thefe are all King’s fhips commiflioned and paid by him, there is ufuaily one amongfl the Captains, fliled the General, and he carries the royal flandard of Spain at the main-top gallant malt-head, as we fhall more particularly obferve hereafter. And now having defcribed the city and port of Manila and the fhipping employed by its inhabitants, it is neceflary to givea more circumflantial detail of the navigation from thence to Acapulco . The fhip having received her cargoe on board, and being fitted for the fea, generally weighs from the mole of Cabite about the middle of July, taking the advantage of the weflerly monfoon, which then fets in. It appears by the chart already inferted, that the getting through the channel called the Boccadero , to the east- ward ( 2 4 ° ) ward muft be a troublefome navigation, and in fad:, it is fome- times the end of Auguft before they compleat it. When they have cleared this paffage, and are difintangled from the Iflands, they hand to the northward of the eaft, till they arrive in the la- titude of thirty degrees or upwards, where they expert to meet with wefterly winds, before which they ftretch away for the coaft of C aliform a. To give a better idea of the track which they hold in this navigation, I have inferted, towards the latter end of the third book, the copy of a manufcript chart, that, was taken on board one of thefe /hips, on which I have laid down the particular route of this ve/Tel, both in her pa/Tage from Manila to Acapulco , and from Acapulco back again. In this chart (as it was drawn for the ufe of the Spanijh General) there are contained all the difcove- ries the Manila /hips have at any time made in traver/ing the vaft Ocean between the Philippine I/lands and the coaft of Mexico ; whence it appears how minute and ineonfiderable thofe fragments of land are which lie difperfed in that prodigious fea. It is indeed moft remarkable,, that by the concurrent teftimony of all the Spa- nijh Navigators, there is not one port, nor even a tolerable road as yet found out betwixt the Philippine Iflands and the coaft of Cali- fornia : So that from the time the Manila /hip firft lofes fight of land, /lie never lets go her anchor till /he arrives on the coaft of Calfornia , and very often not till /he gets to its fouthermoft extre- mity. As this voyage is rarely of lefs than fix months continuance, and the fliip is deep laden with merchandize and crowded with people ; it may appear wonderful how they can be fupplied with a flock of fre/h water for fo long a time. The method of procur- ing it, is indeed extremely Angular, and deferves a very particular recital. It is well known to thofe who are acquainted with the Spanijh cuftoms in the South-Seas , that their water is preferved on /hip- board not in ca/ks but in earthern jars, which in fame fort refemble the large oil jars we often Zee in Europe. When the Manila fliip •firft puts to fea, ilie takes on board a much greater quantity of wa- ter ( 24 * ) ter than can he flowed between decks, and the jars which contain it are hung all about the fhrouds and flays, fo as to exhibit at a diflance a very odd appearance. Though it is one convenience of their jars that they are much more manageable than calks, and are liable to no leekage, unlefs they are broken ; yet it is fufficient- ly obvious, that a fix, or even a three months flore of water could never be flowed in a fhip fo loaded, by any management what- ever ; and therefore without fome other fupply, this navigation could not be performed. A fupply indeed they have, but the re- liance upon it feems at firfl fight fo extremely precarious, that it is wonderful fuch numbers fhould rifque the perifhing by the moil dreadful of all deaths, on the expectation of fo cafual a relief. In fhort, their only method of recruiting their water is by the rains, which they meet with between the latitudes of 30 and 40° North, and which they are always prepared to catch. For this purpofe they take to fea with them a great number of mats, which, whenever the rain defcends, they range flopingly againfl the gunwale, from one end of the fhip to the other, their lower edges refling on a large fplit bamboe ; whence all the water which falls on the mats, drains into the bamboe, and by this, as a trough, is conveyed into a jar. And this method of furnifhing themfelves with water, however accidental and extraordinary it may at firfl light appear, hath never been known to fail them, but it hath been common for them, when their voyage is a little longer than ufual, to fill all their water jars feveral times over. However, though their diflreffes for frefli water are much fhort of what might be expedted in fo tedious a navigation ; yet there are other inconveniences generally attendant upon a long continu- ance at fea, from which they are not exempted. The principal of thefe is the fcurvy, which fometimes rages with extreme violence and deflroys great numbers of the people ; but at other times their paffage to Acapulco (of which alone I would be here underflood to fpeak) is performed with little lofs. li The ( 242 ) The length of time employed in this paffage, fo much beyond what ufually occurs in any other known navigation, is perhaps in part to be imputed to the indolence and unfkilfulnefs of the SpaniJJo failors, and to an unneceffary degree of caution, on pretence of the great riches of the veffel : For it is faid, that they rarely fet their main-fail in the night, and often lie by unneceffarily. Thus much is certain, that the inftrudtions given to their Captains (which I have feen) feem to have been drawn up by fuch as were more apprehenfive of too ftrong a gale, though favourable, than of the inconveniencies and mortality attending a lingring and tedious voyage. For the Captain is particularly ordered to make his paf- fage in the latitude of 30 degrees, if poffible, and to be extremely careful to hand no farther to the northward than is abfolutely neceffary for the getting a wefterly wind. This, according to our conceptions, appears to be a very abfurd reftridtion ; fince it can fcarcely be doubted, but that in the higher latitudes the wefterly winds are much headier and brilker than in the latitude of 30 de- grees. Indeed the whole condudt of this navigation feems liable to very great cenfure. Since, if inhead of heering E. N. E. into the latitude of 30 degrees, they at firh hood N.-E, or even hill more northerly, into the latitude of 40 or 45 degrees, in part of which courfe the trade-winds would greatly affih them, I doubt not but by this management they might confiderably contract their voyage, and perhaps perform it in half the time, which is now allotted for it. This may in fome meafure be deduced from their own journals, fince in thofe I have feen, it appears, that they are often a month or fix weeks after their laying the land, before they get into the latitude of 30 degrees ; whereas, with a more northerly courfe, it might eafily be done in lefs than a fortnight. Now when they were once well advanced to the northward, the wef- terly winds would foon blow them over to the coaft of Calif ornia y and they would be thereby freed from the other embarafments, to which they are at prefent fubjedted, only at the expence of a rough iea and a fiiff gale. This is not merely matter of fpeculation ; for I am ( 2 43 ) 1 am credibly informed, that about the year 1721, a "French fhip,. by purfuing this courfe, ran from the coaft of China to the valley of Vanderas on the coaft of Mexico , in lefs than fifty days : But it was faid, that notwithstanding the fhortnefs of her paffage, fhe fuffered prodigioufly by the fcurvy, fo that the had only four or five of her crew remaining alive when the arrived in America. However, I fhall defcant no longer on the probability of per- forming this voyage in a much fhorter time, but fhall content my- felf with reciting the adtual occurrences of the prefent navigation^ The Manila fhip having flood fo far to the northward as to meet with a wefterly wind, ftretches away nearly in the fame latitude for the coaft of California : And when fhe has run into the longi- tude of about 100 degrees from Cap & Efpiritu Santo, fhe gene- rally finds a plant floating on the fea, which, being called Porra by the Spaniards , is, I prefume, a fpecies of fea-leek. On the fight of this plant they efteem themfelves fufficiently near the Californian fhore, and immediately ftand to the fouthward ; and they rely fo much on this circumftance, that on the firft difcovery of the plant, the whole fhip’s company chaunt a folemn Te Deum , efteerning the difficulties and hazards of their paffage to be now at an end j and they conftantly correct their longitude thereby, with- out ever coming within fight of land. After falling in with thefe Signs, as they denominate them, they fteer to the fouthward, without endeavouring to approach the coaft, till they have run. into a lower latitude ; for as there are many iflands,. and fome fhoals adjacent to California , the extreme caution of the Spanifhr Navigators renders them very apprehenfive of being engaged with the land : However, when they draw near its fouthern extremity* they venture to hale in, both for the fake of making Cape St. Luca* to afcertain their reckoning, and alfo to receive intelligence from the Indian inhabitants, whether or no there are any enemies on the caoft ; and this laft circumftance, which is a particular article in the Captain’s inftruftions, obliges us to mention the late proceed- ings of the Jefuits amongft the Californian Indians. I i 2 Since. ( 244 ) Since the firft difcovery of California , there have been various wandring Mifiionaries who have vifited it at different times, though to little purpofe : But of late years the Jefuits, encouraged and fup- ported by a large donation from the Marquis de Valero , a moll mu- nificent bigot, have fixed themfelves upon the place, and have there eftablifhed a very confiderable miffion. Their principal fettlement lies juft within Cape St. Lucas , where they have collected a great number of favages, and have endeavoured to inure them to agri- culture and other mechanic arts : Nor have their efforts been alto- gether ineffe&ual ; for they have planted vines at their fettlements with very good fuccefs, fo that they already make a confiderable quantity of wine, which begins to be efteemed in the neighbour- ing kingdom of Mexico ■> it refembiing in flavour the inferior forts of Madera. The Jefuits then being thus firmly rooted on California , they have already extended their jurifdi&ion quite acrofs the country from fea to fea, and are endeavouring to fpread their influence far- ther to the northward ; with which view they have made feveral expeditions up the gulf between California and Mexico , in order to difcover the nature of the adjacent countries, all which they hope hereafter to bring under their power. And being thus occupied in advancing the interefts of their fociety, it is no wonder if fome fhare of attention is engaged about the fecurity of the Manila fhip, in which their Convents at Manila are fo deeply concerned. For this purpofe there are refrefhments, as fruits, wine, water, &c. con- ftantly kept in readinefs for her ; and there is befides care taken at Cape St. Lucas , to look out for any fhip of the enemy, which might be cruifing there to intercept her ; this being a ftation where ftie is conftantly expected, and where fhe has been often waited for and fought with, though generally with little fuccefs. In con- fequence then of the meafures mutually fettled between the Jefuits of Manila and their brethren at California, the Captain of the galeon is ordered to fall in with the land to the northward of Cape £t. Lucas, where the inhabitants are dire&ed, on fight of the vef- fel, f 245 ) fel, to make the proper fignals with fires. On difcovering thefe fires, the Captain is to fend his launch on fhore with twenty men, well armed, who are to carry with them the letters from the Con- vents at Manila to the Californian Miflionaries, and are to bring back the refrefhments which will be prepared for the fhip, and Iike- wife intelligence whether or no there are any enemies on the coaft. If the Captain finds, from the account which is fent him, that he has nothing to fear, he is directed to proceed for Cape St. Lu- cas , and thence to Cape Corientes ) after which he is to coaft it along for the port of Acapulco. The moft ufual time of the arrival of the galeon at Acapulco is towards the middle of January : But this navigation is fo uncer- tain, that flie fometimes gets in a month fooner, and at other times has been detained at fea above a month longfer. The port of Aca- pulco is by much the fecureft and fineft in all the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean, being, as it were, a bafon furrounded by very high mountains : But the town is a moft wretched place, and ex- tremely unhealthy, for the air about it is fo pent up by the hills, that it has fcarcely any circulation. Acapulco is befides deftitute of frefh water, except what is brought from a confiderable diftance, and is in all refpedts fo inconvenient, that except at the time of the mart, whilft the Manila galeon is in the port, it is almoft deferted. To compenfate in fome meafure for the fhortnefs of this defcrip- tion, I have added in the third book, in the fame plate with the bay of Manila abovementioned, a plan of this town and of its port and citadel, in which are likewife drawn the new works which were added on their firft intelligence of the equipment of our fquadron. As this plan was taken from the Spaniards , I can- not anfwer for its accuracy ; but having feen two or three other Spanijld draughts of the place, I conceive, by comparing them to- gether, that this I have here inferted is not very diftant from the truth. When ( 246 ) When the galeon arrives in this port, fhe is generally moored on its weffern tide to the two trees marked in the plan, and her car- goe is delivered with all poflible expedition. And now the town of Acapulco , from almoff a folitude, is immediately thronged with Merchants from all parts of the kingdom of Mexico. The cargoe being landed and difpofed of, the filver and the goods intended for Manila are taken on board, together with provifions and water, and the fhip prepares to put to fea with the utmoft expedition. There is indeed no time to be loft j for it is an exprefs order to the Captain to be out of the port of Acapulco on his return, before the firft day of April, N. S. Having mentioned the goods intended for Manila , I muff ob- . ferve, that the principal return is always made in filver, and con- fequently the reft of the cargoe is but of little account, the other articles, befides the filver, being fome cochineal and a few fweet- meats, the produce of the American fettlements, together with Eu- ropean millinery ware for the women at Manila , and fome Spanijh wines, fuch as tent and fherry, which are intended for the ufe of their Priefis in the adminiftration of the Sacrament.. And this difference in the cargoe of the fhip to and from Ma- nila , occafions a very remarkable variety in the manner of equip- ping her for thefe two different voyages. For the galeon, when fhe fets fail from Manila , being deep laden with a variety of bulky goods.} fhe has not the conveniency of mounting her lower tire of guns, but carries them in her hold, till fhe draws near Cape St. Lu- cas , and is apprehenfive of an enemy. Her hands too are as few as is confiffent with the fafety of the fhip, that fhe may be lefs pef- tered by the ftowage of provifions. But on her return from Aca- pulco, as her cargoe lies in lefs room, her lower tire is (or ought to be) always mounted before fhe leaves the port, and her crew is aug- mented with a fupply of failors, and with one or two companies of foot, which are intended to reinforce the garrifon at Manila. Be- fides there being many Merchants who take their pafiage to Ma- nila ( 2 47 ) mla on board the galeon, her whole number of hands on her return is ufually little lhort of fix hundred, all which are eafily provided for, by reafon of the fmall ftowage necefiary for the filver. The galeon being thus fitted in order to her return, the Captain, en leaving the port of Acapulco , fleers for the latitude of 13° or 14°, and then continues on that parallel, till he gets fight of the Ifland of Guam , one of the Ladrones. In this run the Captain is particularly directed to be careful of the fhoals of St. Bartholomew , and of the Ifland of Gafparico, He is alfo told in his inflrudtions, that to prevent his pafling the Ladrones in the dark, there are orders given that, through all the month of pfune, fires fhall be lighted every night on the higheft part of Guam and Rota , and kept in till the morning. At Guam there is a fmall Spanijh garrifon, (as will be more par- ticularly mentioned hereafter) purpofely intended to fecure that place for the refrefhment of the galeon, and to yield her all the affifl- ance in their power. However, the danger of the road at Guam is fo great, that though the galeon is ordered to call there, yet fhe rarely days above a day or two ; but getting her water and refrefh- ments on board as foon as poflible, fhe fteers away diredtly for Cape Efpiritu Santo , on the Ifland of Samal. Here the Captain is again ordered to look out for fignals ; and he is told, that centinels will be polled not only on that Cape, but likewife in Catanduanas i Butufan i Birriborongo , and on the Ifland of Batan. Thefe centinels are inflrudted to make a fire when they difcover the fhip, which the Captain is carefully to obferve: For, if, after this firft fire is extinguifhed, he perceives that four or more are lighted up again, he is then to conclude that there are enemies on the coafl ; and on this he is im- mediately to endeavour to fpeak with the centinel on fhore, and to procure from him more particular intelligence of their force, and of the flation they cruife in ; purfuant to which, he is to regulate his condudt, and to endeavour to gain fome fecure port amongft thofe Iflands, without coming in fight of the enemy ; and in cafe he ( 248 ) he fliould be difcovered when in port, and fhould be apprehenfive of an attack, he muft land his treafure, and muft take feme of his artillery on fhore for its defence, not negle&ing to lend fre- quent and particular accounts to the city of Manila of all that pafles. But if, after the firft fire on fhore, the Captain obferves that two others only are made by the centinels, he is then to con- clude, that there is nothing to fear : And he is to purfue his courfe without interruption, making the befi: of his way to the port of Cabite , which is the port to the city of Manila , and the conftant ftation for all the fhips employed in this commerce to Acapulco, CHAP* ( 249 ) CHAP. XI. Our cruife off the port of Acapulco for the Ma- nila fhip. I HAVE already mentioned, in the ninth chapter, that the re- turn of our barge from the port of Acapulco , where fhe had furprized three Negro fifhermen, gave us inexprefiible fatisfac- tion ; as we learnt from our prifoners, that the galeon was then pre- paring to put to fea, and that her departure was fixed, by an edidt of the Viceroy of Mexico , to the 14th of March , N. S. that is, to the 3d of March , according to our reckoning. What related to this Manila fhip being the matter to which we were moft attentive, it was necefiarily the firft article of our exami- nation - but having fatisfied ourfelves upon this head, we then in- dulged our curiofity in enquiring after other news ; when the prifon- ers informed us, that they had received intelligence at Acapulco , of our having plundered and burnt the town of Paita ; and that, on this occafion, the Governor of Acapulco had augmented the fortifi- cations of the place, and had taken feveral precautions to pre- vent us from forcing our way into the harbour; that in parti- cular, he had planted a guard on the Hand which lies at the harbour’s mouth, and that this guard had been withdrawn but two nights before the arrival of our barge : So that had the barge fuc- ceeded in her firft attempt, or had fhe arrived at the port the fe- cond time two days fooner, fhe could fcarcely have avoided being feized on ; or if fhe had efcaped, it muft have been with the lofs of the grcateft part of her crew, as fhe would have been under the fire of the guard, before fhe had known her danger. Kk The ( 25 ° ) The withdrawing of this guard was a circumftance that gave us much pleafure fince it feemed to demonftrate, not only that the ene- my had not as yet difcovered us, but likewife that they had now no farther apprehenfions of our vifiting their coaft. Indeed the pri- foners aflured us, that they had no knowledge of our being in thofe feas, and that they had therefore flattered themfelves, that, in the long interval from our taking of Paita , we had fleered another courfe. But we did not confider the opinion of thefe Negro pri- foners as fo authentick a proof of our being hitherto concealed, as the withdrawing of the guard from the harbour’s mouth j for this being the adtion of the Governor, was of all arguments the mofl convincing, as he might be fuppofed to have intelligence, with which the reft of the inhabitants were unacquainted. Satisfied therefore that we were undifcovered, and that the day was fixed for the departure of the galeon from Acapulco j we made all neceflary preparations, and waited with the utmofl impatience for the important moment. As it was the 1 9th of February when the barge returned and brought us our intelligence, and the galeon was not to fail till the 3d of March j the Commodore refolved to continue the greatefl part of the intermediate time on his prefent flation, to the weftward of Acapulco , conceiving that in this fix- ation there would be lefs danger of his being feen from the fhore, which was the only circumftance that could deprive us of the im- menfe treafure, on which we had at prefent fo eagerly fixed our thoughts. During this interval, we were employed in fcrubbing and cleanfing our fhips bottoms, in bringing them into their moft ad- vantageous trim, and in regulating the orders, fignals and pofitions to be obferved, when we fhould arrive off Acapulco , and the time appointed for the departure of the galeon fhould draw nigh. It was on the firft of March, we made the high lands, ufu- ally called the paps over Acapulco , and got with all poflible expe- dition into the fixation prefcribed by the Commodore’s orders. The diftribution of our fquadron on this occafion, both for the mter* cepting \ ■' i A < * \ $ V •1 6 - / 4 . f- |V i » \ s ■! A Scale of Leagues. A. The Port of Acapulca, I\. Port Marquis . The Form of cruising off ACAPULCA on the COASTof MEXICO in die SOUTH SEAS, in the Tear by his Majefty's Ships, Centurion, Glouceiter, Tryall Prize , Camilla Prize, Carmin Prize. c -The Cutters belonging to tile Centurion and Glouccftcr which kept 45 Leagues front the Shore in the Day, and dole In in die Night, to watch the Motions of the Manila Ship . ( 25 1 ) cepting the galeon, and for the avoiding a diicovery from tbe fliore, was fo very judicious, that it well merits to he diftindtly de- fcribed. The order of it was thus : The Centurion brought the paps over the harbour to bear N.N.E, at fifteen leagues difiance, which was a fufficient offing to prevent our being feen by the ene- my. To the weftward of the Centurion there was Rationed the Car- melo , and to the eaftward the Tryal’s Prize, the Ghucefter and the Carmin : Thefe were all ranged in a circular line, and each finp was three leagues difiant from the next 3 fo that the Car melo and the Carmin which were the two extremes, were twelve leagues removed from each other : And as the galeon could, without doubt, be difcerned at fix leagues difiance from either extremity 3 the whole fweep of our fquadron, within which nothing could pafs undifcovered, was at leafi: twenty-four leagues in extent 3 and yet we were fo connected by our fignals, as to be eafily and fpeedily informed of what was feen in any part of the line. T o render this difpofition ftill more compleat, and to prevent even the poffibility of the galeon’s efcaping us in the night, the two Cutters belong- ing to the Centurion and the Gloucejler were both manned and Rent in ffiore, and commanded to lie all day at the difiance of four or five leagues from the entrance of the port, where, by reafon of their fmallnefs, they could not poffibly be difcovered 5 but in the night they were directed to fiand nearer to the harbour’s mouth, and as the light of the morning approached to come back again to their day-pofts. When the Cutters ffiould firft difcern the Mani- la ffiip, one of them was to return to the fquadron, and to make a fignal, whether the galeon Rood to the eafiward or to the wefiward 3 whilft the other was to follow the galeon at a difiance, and if it grew dark, to diredt the fquadron in their chace, by shew- ing falfe fires. The particular fituation of each fhip and of the Cutters, and the bearings from each other, which they were to ob- ferve in order to keep their Rations, will be better underfiood by the delineation exhibited in the annexed plate 3 a draught of which was delivered to each of the Commanders at the fame time with their ciders. K k 2 Befides ( 2 5 2 ) Befides the care we had taken to prevent the galeon from paflmg by us unobferved, we had not been inattentive to the means of en- gaging her to advantage, when we came up with her : For confi- dering the thinnefs of our crews, and the vaunting accounts given by the Spaniards of her fize, her guns, and her firength, this was a confideration not to be negleded. As we fuppofed that none of our fhips but the Centurion and the Gloucejier were capable of ly- ing along tide of her, we took on board the Centurion all the hands belonging to the Carmelo and the Carmin i except what were juft fuf- ficient to navigate thofe fhips ; and Captain Saunders was ordered to fend from the Tryal’s Prize ten Englijhmen , and as many Negroes, to reinforce the crew of the Gloucejier. At the fame time for the encouragement of our Negroes, of which we had a confiderable number on board, we promifed them, that on their good behaviour they fhould all have their freedom. As they had been almoft every day trained to the management of the great guns for the two preced- ing months, they were very well qualified to be of fervice to us; and from their hopes of liberty, and in return for the kind ufage they had met with amongft us, they feemed difpofed to exert themfelves to the utmoft of their power, whenever we fhould have occafion for them. Being thus prepared for the reception of the galeon, we expect- ed, with the utmoft impatience, the often mentioned 3d of March y the day fixed for her departure. No fooner did that day dawn than we were all of us moft eagerly engaged in looking out towards Acapulco , from whence neither the cafual duties on board nor the calls of hunger could eafi'ly divert our eyes ; and we were fo ftrangely prepoffefied with the certainty of our intelligence, and with an afturance of her coming out of port, that fome or other amongft us were conftantly imagining that they dis- covered one of our Cutters returning with a fignal. But to our extreme vexation, both this day and the fucceeding night paflbd over, without any news of the galeon : However, we did not yet defpair, but were all heartily difpofed to flatter ourfelves, that fome unforefeen ( 2J3 ) unforefeen accident had intervened, which might have put off her departure for a few days j and fuggeflions of this kind occurred in plenty, as we knew that the time fixed by the Viceroy for her failing, was often prolonged on the petition of the Merchants of Mexico. Thus we kept up our hopes, and did not abate of our vigilance j and as the 7th of March was Sunday , the beginning of Paffion-week, which is obferved by the Papifls with great flidtnefs, and a total ceffation from all kinds of labour, fo that no fhip is permitted to ftir out of port, during the whole week, this quieted our apprehenfions for fome time, and difpofed us not to expedt the galeon till the week following. On the Friday in this week ou.r Cutters returned to us, and the officers on board them were very confident that the galeon was flill in port j for that ffie could not poffibly have come out, but they muff have feen her. The Monday morning following, that is, on the 1 5th of March i the Cutters were again difpatched to their old flation, and our hopes were once more indulged in as fanguine prepoffeffions as before j but in a week’s time our eagernefs was greatly abated, and a general de- jection and aefpondency took place in its room. It is true, there were fome few amongft us who ftill kept up their fpirits, and were very ingenious in finding out reafons to fatisfy themfelves, that the difappointment we had hitherto met with had only been occafioned by a cafual delay of the galeon, which a few days would remove* and not by a total fufpenfion of her departure for the whole feafon : But thefe fpeculations were not adopted by the generality of our people ; for they were perfuaded that the enemy had, by fome ac- cident, difcovered our being upon the coafl, and had therefore laid an embargo on the galeon till the next year. And indeed this per- fuafion was but too well founded ; for we afterwards learnt, that our barge, when fent on the difcovery of the port of Acapulco , had been feen from the fhore ; and that this circumflance (no embarka- tions but canoes ever frequenting that coaft) was to them a fuf- ficient proof of the neighbourhood of our fquadron 3 on which*, they flopped the galeon till the fucceeding year.. Tiie ( 254 ) The Commodore himfelf, though he declared not his opinion, was yet in his own thoughts apprehenlive that we were difcovered, and that the departure of the galeon was put off ; and he had, in confequence of this opinion, formed a plan for po/Teffing himfelf of Acapulco 5 becaufe he had no doubt but the treafure as yet remained in the town, even though the orders for difpatching of the galeon were countermanded. Indeed the place was too well defended to be carried by an open attempt ; fince befides the garrifon and the crew of the galeon, there were in it at lead; a thoufand men well armed, who had marched thither as guards to the treafure, when it was brought down from the city of Mexico : For the roads there- abouts are fo much in felled either by independent Indians or fugi- tives, that the Spa?iiards never truft the filver without an armed force to protect it. Befides, had the flrength of the place been lefs confiderable, and fuch as might not have appeared fuperior to the efforts of our fquadron, yet a declared attack would have prevent- ed us receiving any advantages from its fuccefs ; for upon the fir ft difcovery of our fquadron, all the treafure would have been ordered into the country, and in a few hours would have been out of our reach ; fo that our conqueft would have been only a defo- late town, where we fhould have found nothing that could in the lea ft have countervailed the fatigue and hazard of the undertaking. For thefe reafons, the furprifal of the place was the only method that could at all anfwer our purpofe ; and therefore the manner in which Mr. Anfon propofed to conduit this enterprize was, by fet- ting fail with the fquadron in the evening, time enough to arrive at the port in the night. As there is no danger on that coaft, he would have flood boldly for the harbour’s mouth, where he ex- pected to arrive, and perhaps might have entered, before the Spa- niards were acquainted with his defigns : As foon as he had run into the harbour, he intended to have pufh’d two hundred of his men on fhore in his boats, who were immediately to attempt the fort mark’d (C) in the plan mentioned in the preceding chapter, and inierted towards the beginning of the third book ; whilft he, the Com- ( 255 ) Commodore, with his fhips, was employed in firing upon the town and the other batteries. And thefe different operations, which would have been executed with great regularity, could hardly have failed of fucceeding againft an enemy, who would have been pre- vented by the fuddennefs of the attack, and by the want of day- light, from concerting any meafures for their defence : So that it was extremely probable that we fhould have carried the fort by ftorm 5 and then the other batteries, being open behind, muff have been foon abandoned 5 after which, the town, and its inhabitants, and all the treafure, mufl neceffarily have fallen into our hands. For the place is fo cooped up with mountains, that it is fcarcely poffible to efcape out of it, but by the great road, mark’d (H. H.) in the plan, which pafies under the fort. This was the project which the Com- modore had thus far fettled generally in his thoughts 5 but when he began to inquire into fuch drcumftances as were necelfary to be con- fidered in order to regulate the particulars of its execution, he found there was a difficulty, which, being infuperable, occafioned the enter- prize to be laid afide : As on examining the prifoners about the winds which prevail near the fhore, he learnt (and it was afterwards con- firmed by the officers of our cutters) that nearer in fhore there was always a dead calm for the greatefl part of the night, and that to- wards morning, when a gale fprung up, it conftantly blew off the land ; fo that the fetting fail from our prefent ftation in the even- ing, and arriving at Acapulco before day-light, was impoffible. This fcheme, as hath been faid, was formed by the Commodore, upon a fuppofition that the galeon was detained till the next year : But as this was a matter of opinion only, and not founded on intel- ligence, and there was a poffibility that fhe might flill put to fea in a fhort time, the Commodore thought it prudent to continue cruif- ing on his prefent ftation, as long as the neceffary attention to his fiores of wood and water, and to the convenient feafon for his fu- ture paffage to China , would give him leave. And therefore, as the Cutters had been ordered to remain before Acapulco till the 23d of March ) the fquadron did not change its pofition till that day 5 when the f 256 ) the Cutters not appearing, we were in Tome pain for them, appre- hending they might have fufFered either from the enemy or the weather $ but we were relieved from our concern the next morn- ing, when we difcovered them, though at a great diflance, and to the leeward of the fquadron. We bore down to them and took them up, and were informed by them, that, conformable to their orders, they had left their flation the day before, without having feen any thing of the galeon ; and we found, that the reafon of their being fo far to the leeward of us was a flrong current, which had driven the whole fquadron to windward. And here it is necefEary to mention, that, by information which was afterwards received, it appeared that this prolongation of our cruife was a very prudent meafure, and afforded us no contemptible chance of feizing the treafure, on which we had fo long fixed our thoughts. For after the embargo was laid on the galeon, as is be- fore mentioned, the perfons principally interefled in the cargo dif- patched feveral expreffes to Mexico , to beg that fhe might flill be permitted to depart : It feems they knew, by the accounts fent from Paita , that we had not mere than three hundred men in all, whence they infilled that there was nothing to be feared ; as the galeon, carrying above twice as many hands as our whole fquadron, would be greatly an overmatch for us. And though the Viceroy was inflexible, yet, on the account of their reprefentation, fhe was kept ready for the fea near three weeks after the firfl order came to detain her. When we had taken up the Cutters, all the fhips being joined, the Commodore made a fignal to fpeak with their Commanders j and upon enquiry into the flock of frefli water remaining on board the fquadron, it was found to be fo very flender, that we were under a neceflity of quitting our flation to procure a frefh fupply. Confulting what place was the properefl for this purpofe, it was agreed, that the harbour of Seguataneio or Chequetan being the nearefl, was, on that account, the rnofl eligible ; fo that it was immediately refolved to make the bell of our way thither : But that. X *57 ) “that, even while ~we were recruiting our water, We might not to- tally abandon our views upon the galeon, which perhaps, from cer- tain intelligence of our being employed at Chequetan , might venture to flip out to fea our Cutter, under the command of Mr. Hughes , the Lieutenant of the Tryal’s Prize, was ordered to cruife off the port of Acapulco for twenty-four days ; that if the galeon fhould fet fail in that interval, we might be fpeedily informed of it. In purfuance of thefe refolutions we endeavoured to ply to the weft- ward, to gain our intended port j but were often interrupted in our progrefs by calms and adverfe currents : At thefe intervals we em- ployed ourfelves in taking out the moft valuable part of the cargoes of the Carmelo and Carmin prizes, which two fhips we intended to deftroy as foon as we had tolerably cleared them. By the firft of April we were fo far advanced towards Seguataneio , that we thought it expedient to fend out two boats, that they might range along the coaft, to difcover the watering place ; they were gone fome days, and our water being now very flhort, it was a particular felicity to us that we met with daily fupplies of turtle, for had we been en- tirely confined to fait provifions, we muft have differed extremely in fo warm a climate. Indeed our prefent circumftances were fuf- ficiently alarming, and gave the moft confiderate amongft us as much concern as any of the numerous perils we had hitherto en- countered j for our boats, as we conceived by their not returning, had not as yet found a place proper to water at, and by the leak- age of our cafk and other accidents, we had not ten days water on board the whole fquadron : So that from the known difficulty of procuring water on this coaft, and the little reliance we had on the Buccaneer writers (the only guides we had to truft to) we were apprehenfive of being foon expofed to a calamity, the moft terrible of any that occurs in the long difheartning catalogue of the diftrefles of a fea-faring life. But thefe gloomy fuggeftions were at length happily ended ; for our boats returned on the 5th of April , having, about feven miles to the weft ward of the rocks of Seguataneio , met with a place fit L 1 for ( 2 5 8 ) for our purpofe ; and which, by the defcription they gave of it* appeared to be the port of Chequetan , mentioned by Dampier. The fuccefs of our boats was highly agreeable to us, and they were ordered out again the next day, to found the harbour and its entrance, which they had reprefented as very narrow. At their return they reported the place to be free from any danger ; fo that on the 7th we flood for it, and that evening came to an anchor in eleven fathom. The Gloucejler caft anchor at the fame time with us ; but the Carmelo and the Carmin having fallen to the lee- ward, the TryaF s Prize was ordered to join them, and to bring them up, which in two or three days fhe effected. Thus, after a four months continuance at fea from the leav- ing of Quibo, and having but fix days water on board, we arrived in the harbour of Chequetan the defcription of which, and of the adjacent coaft, fhall be the bufinefs of the enfuing chapter,. CHAP. ( 259 ) CHAP. xir. Defcription of the harbour of Chequetan , and of the adjacent coaft and country. f - g — ^ H E harbour of Chequetan , which we here propofe to de- 1 fcribe, lies in the latitude of 1 7 0 : 36' North, and is about thirty leagues to the weftward of Acapulco. It is eafy to be difcovered by any ffiip that will keep well in with the land, efpecially by fuch as range down the coaft from Acapulco , and will attend to the following particulars. There is a beach of fand, which extends eighteen leagues from the harbour of Acapulco to the weftward, againft which die fea breaks fo violently, that with our boats it would be impoftible to land on any part of it : But yet the ground is fo clean, that during the fair feafon, ftiips may anchor in great fafety, at the diftance of a mile or two from the jfhore. The land adjacent to this beach is generally low, full of villages, and planted with a great number of trees ; and on the tops of fome fmall eminencies there are feve- ral look-out towers ; fo that the face of the country affords a very agreeable profpedt : For the cultivated part, which is the part here defcribed, extends fome leagues back from the fhore, where it feems to be bounded by a chain of mountains, which ftretch to a confiderable diftance on either ftde of Acapulco. It is a moft remarkable particularity, that in this whole extent, containing, in appearance, the moft populous and beft planted diftridt of the whole coaft, there fhould be neither canoes, boats, nor any other embarkations, either for fifhing, coafting, or for pleafure. This cannot be imputed to the difficulty of landing ; becaufe in many parts of Africa and Afia , where the fame inconvenience occurs, the inhabitants have provided againft it by veffels of a peculiar fabric. I therefore conceive, that the Government, to prevent fmuggling, have prohibited the ufe of all kinds of fmall craft in that diftridt. L 1 2 The ( 26c ) The beach here defcribed is the fureft guide to thofe who are defirous of finding the harbour of Cbequetan j for five miles to the weflward of the extremity of this beach there appears a hummock, which at firft makes like an ifland, and is in fhape not very unlike the hill of Petaplan , hereafter mentioned, though much fmaller. Three miles to the weflward of this hummock, is a white rock, near the Chore, which cannot eafily be pafied by unobferved : It is about two cables length from the land, and lies in a large bay about nine leagues over. The weft point of this bay is the hill of Petaplan , which is reprefented in the fame plate with the view of the Ifland of Quicara and Quibo^ and is here inferted. This hill of Petaplan , like the foremen- tioned hummock, may be at firft miftaken for an ifland, though it be, in reality, a peninfula, which is joined to the Continent by a low and narrow Ifthmus, covered over with flirubs and fmall trees. The bay of Segaataneio extends from this hill a great way to the weflward ; and it appears by a plan of the bay of Pe- taplan , which is part of that of Segaataneio , and is here annexed, that at a fmall diftance from the hill, and oppofite to the entrance of the bay, there is an aflemblage of rocks, which are white from the excrements of boobies and tropical birds. Four of thefe rocks are high and large, and, together with feveral fmaller ones, are, by the help of a little imagination, pretended to refemble the form of a crofs, and are called the White Friars. Thefe rocks, as appears by the plan, bear W. by N. from Petaplan ; and about feven miles to the weflward of them lies the harbour of Cbequetan , which is flill more minutely diftinguilhed by a large and Angle rock, that rifes out of the water a mile and an half diftant from the entrance, and bears S. ~ W. from the middle of it. The appearance of this en- trance is very accurately reprefented in the annexed plate, where ( e ) is the Eaft point of the harbour, and ( d ) the Weft, the foremen- tionea rock being marked (/). In the fame view ( a ) is a large fandy bay, but where there is no landing ; ( b ) are four remarkable white rocks ; and from the point (e) there runs another bay to the weflward. To there directions I muft add, that the coaft is no ways I r ' X 7 1 ' - . P/gfrXXDi >WM9 - i A Salt Lagoon . ... *- -»* , ; \ .«■ • '•-»/»_ t* , . *- ' A a • VW tLa,: _J* ^ ?T ^ L Vl - / *' .*- , A ^AtjAtA., At *. t * ' iair. •* , 3' t'Hi t " J IT i^lli vt U Ati^??A I'®" A‘o'*o»>>-V,. A*o.Aj£AA A» » , .... - ) I '* A t. * t "'* 1 fli !*t + *.*.1 ». 1 •■<-»»» ti< III »' ^ * -a ‘ WA l> Kt / k u .?-S‘.-Mf i _ ,,,„ *• tj C/ Pine Sand i-t The White Friers A Scale of two Englilh Miles ‘ /Ar/r /At' r ///rtr //rr n/ CHEQUETAN or SEGUATA'N'EQ Afo////y '// />. ,//.'/,/ /// •tr.ffztt //?*• j, * .v Frrlli Water i-‘ '■ t-f *«$- Binckifli Water t „ 5 *£-<<».£ ":*'*•* Jfc s j?* f* A Plan of the Harbour of Chequetan or Seguataneo Lying in the Lat d of 17^,36™ N° > * £ b Gravel Cr The Rock of Chequetai A Scale of one Mile. ( 26 1 ) ways to be dreaded between the middle of October and the begin- ning of May , nor is there then any danger from the winds : Though in the remaining part of the year there are frequent and violent tornadoes, heavy rains,, and hard gales in all directions- of the compafs. Such are the infallible marks by which the harbour of Cheque-- tan may be known to thofe who keep well in with the land. But as to thofe who keep at any confiderable dihance from the coah, there is no other method to be taken for finding the place, than that of making it by the latitude : For there are fo many ranges of mountains riling one upon the back of another within land, that no drawings of the appearance of the coah can be at all depended on, when off at fea ; every little change of difiance or variation of pofition bringing new mountains in view, and producing an infi- nity of different profpedts, which render all attempts of delineating the afpeCt of the coaff impofiible. Having difcuffed the methods of difcovering the harbour of Chequetan y it is time to infert the plan of die harbour itfelf : This is reprefented in the annexed plate j where it may be feen, that its entrance is but about half a mile broad y the two points which form it, and which are faced with rocks that are almoft perpen- dicular, bear from each other S. E. and N. W. The harbour is invironed on all fides, except to the wehward, with high moun- tains overfpread with trees. The paffage into it is very fafe on ei- ther fide of the rock that lies off the. mouth of it, though we, both in coming in and going out, left it to the eahward. The ground without the harbour is gravel mixed with hones, but with- in it is a foft mud : And it mull be remembered, that in coming to an anchor a good allowance fliould be made for a large fwell, which frequently caufes a great fend of the fea ; as likewife, for the ebbing and flowing of the tide, which we obferved to be about five feet, and that it fet nearly E. and W. The watering place is fituated in that part of the harbour, where frefh water is marked on the plan. This, during the whole time of our hay, had the appearance of a large handing lake, without ( 262 ) without any vifible outlet into the fea, from which it is feparated by a part of the Hrand. The origin of this lake is a fpring that bubbles out of the ground near half a mile within the country. We found the water a little brackiffi, but more confiderably fo towards the fea-lide ; for the nearer we advanced towards the fpring-head, the fofter and freffier it proved. This laid us under a neceffity of filling all our calks from the furtheH part of the lake, and occafion- ed us fome trouble ; and would have proved Hill more difficult, had it not been for our particular management, which on account of the conveniency of it deferves to be recommended to all who ffiall here- after water at this place. Our method confifled in making ufe of ca- noes which drew but little water ; for, loading themwith a number of fmall caf e, they ealily got up the lake to the fpring-head, and the fmall calk being there filled were in the fame manner tranfported back again to the beach, where fome of our hands always attended to Hart them into other calks of a larger fize. Though this lake, during our continuance there, appeared to have no outlet into the fea, yet there is reafon to fuppofe that in the rainy feafon it overflows the rtrand, and communicates with the ocean j for D ampler, who was formerly here, fpeaks of it as a large river. Indeed it is neceflary that a vaH body of water ffiould be amafled be- fore the lake can rife high enough to overflow the Hrand ; fince the neighbouring lands are fo low, that great part of them mull; be covered with water, before it can run out over the beach. As the country hereabouts particularly the trad: of coaH contigu- ous to Acapulco , appeared to be well peopled, and cultivated ; we hoped to have ealily procured from thence fome freffi provifions and other refrelhments which we now Hood greatly in need of. To facilitate thefe views, the Commodore the morning after we came to an anchor, ordered a party of forty men, well armed, to march into the country, and to endeavour to difeover fome town or village, where they were to attempt to fet on foot a corref- pondence with the inhabitants ; for when we had once begun this intercourfe, we doubted not but that by proper prefents, we ffiould allure them to bring down to us whatever fruits or freih ( 263 ) frefh provifions were in their power; as our prizes abounded in various kinds of coarfe merchandife, which were of little con- fequence to us, though to them they would be extremely valua- ble. Our people were directed on this occafion to proceed with the greateft circumfpedtion, and to make as little oftentation of hoftility as poflible; for we were fenfible, we could find no wealth in thefe parts worth our notice ; and what necefifaries we really wanted, we expedted would be better and more abun- dantly fupplied by an open amicable traffic, than by violence and force of arms. But this endeavour of opening a commerce with the inhabitants proved ineffectual ; for towards evening, the party which had been ordered to march into the country, returned greatly fatigued by their unufual exercife, and fome of them fo far fpent that they had fainted on the road, and were obliged to be brought back upon the fhoulders of their companions. They had pene- trated, as they conceived, about ten miles into the country, along a beaten track, where they often faw the frefh dung of horfes or mules. When they had got near five miles from the harbour, the road divided between the mountains into two branches, one running to the Eaft, and the other to the Weft. On deliberation concerning the courfe they ftiould take, it was agreed to continue their march along the eaftern road ; this when they had followed it for fome time, led them at once into a large plain or Savannah ; on one fide of which they difcovered a centinel on horfeback with a piftol in his hand. It was fuppofed that when they firft faw him he was alleep, but his horfe ftartled at the glittering of their arms, and turning round fuddenly ran off with his mafter, who though lie was verynear being unhorfed in the furprize, yet recovered his feat, and efcaped with the lofs only of his hat and his piftol which he drop- ped on the ground. Our people purfued him, in hopes of difcover- ing the village or habitation which he would retreat to ; but as he had the advantage of being on horfeback, he foon loft fight of them. Notwithftanding his efcape, they were unwilling to come back with- out making fome difcovery,and therefore ftiil followed the track they were in ; till the heat of the day encreafing, and finding no water to qucnck ( a « 4 ) quench their tHirft, they were firft obliged to halt, and then refolvedto return ; for as they fa w no figns of plantations or cultivated land, they had no reafonto believe that there was any village or fettlement near them. However to leave no means untried of procuring fome inter- courfe with the people, the officers ftuck up feveral poles in the road, to which were affixed declarations, written in Spanijh , encouraging the inhabitants to come down to the harbour, to traffic with us, giving them the ftrongeft affiirances of a kind reception, and faith- ful payment for any provifions they fhould bring us. This was doubtlefs a very prudent meafure j yet it produced no effecft j for we never faw any of them during the whole time of our continu- ance at this port of Chequetan. Indeed it were to have been wifhed that our men upon the divifion of the path, had taken the weft- ern road inftead of the eaftern ; for then they would foon have been led to a village or town, which fome Spanijh manufcripts men- tion as being in the neighbourhood of this port, and which we afterwards learnt was not above two miles from that turning. And on this occafion I cannot avoid mentioning another adven- ture, which happened to fome of our people in the bay of P eta- plan, as it may greatly affift the reader in forming a juft idea of the temper and refolution of the inhabitants of this part of the world. Sometime after our arrival at Cbequetan , Lieutenant Brett was fent by the Commodore, with two of our boats under his command, to ex- amine the coaft to the eaftward, particularly to make obfervations on the bay and watering place of Petaplan , a plan of which has been al- ready inferted in this chapter. As Mr. Brett with one of the boats was preparing to go on fhore towards the hill of Petaplan , he, acciden- tally looking acrofs the bay, perceived, on the oppofite ftrand, three fmall fquadrons of horfe parading upon the beach, and feeming to advance towards the place where he propofed to land. On fight of this he immediately put off the boat, though he had but fixteen men with him, and ftood over the bay towards them : And he foon came near enough to perceive that they were mounted on very lightly horfes, and were armed with carbines and lances. On feeing 1 265 ) feeing him make towards them, they formed upon the beach, and feemed refolved to difpute his landing, firing feveral diftant fhot at him as he drew near ; till at laft the boat being arrived within a reafonable distance of the mod; advanced fquadron, Mr. Brett or- dered his people to fire, upon which this refolute cavalry inflan tly ran with great condition into the wood, through a fmall opening which is delineated on the plan. In this precipitate flight one of their horfes fell down and threw his rider ; but, whether he was wound- ed or not, we could not difcern, for both man and horfe foon got up again, and followed the reft; into the wood. In the mean time the other two fquadrons, were calm fpedlators of the rout of their comrades ; for they were drawn up at a great diftance behind, out of the reach of our fhot, having halted on our flrft approach, and never advancing a ftep afterwards. It was doubtlefs fortunate for our people that the enemy a in which cafe, the only refource left to the Creolians (dilfatisfied as they were with the Spanijh Government) would have been to have made the bed; terms they could with their Indian neighbours, and to have with- drawn themfelves from the obedience of a Mader, who had diown fo little regard to their fecurity. This lad fuppodtion may perhaps appear chimerical to thofe, who meafure the poffibility of all events by the fcanty dandard of their own experience ; but the temper of the times, and the drong dillike of the natives to the meafures then purfued by the Spanijh Court, diffidently evince at lead its poffibility. However, not to infid on the prefumption of a general revolt, it is fufficient for our purpofe to conclude, that the Arraucos would fcarcely have failed of taking arms, on our appearance : Since this alone would fo far have terrified the enemy, that they would no longer have employed their thoughts on the means of oppofing us ; but would have turned all their care to the Indian affairs ; as they dill remember, with the utmod hor- ror, the facking of their cities, the rifling of their convents, the captivity of their wives and daughters, and the defolation of their country by thefe refolute favages, in the lad war between the two nations. For it mud be obferved, that the Chilian Indians have been frequently fuccefsful againd the Spaniards , and poffefs at this time a large trad of country, which was formerly full of Spanifh towns and villages, whofe inhabitants were all either dedroyed, or carried into captivity by the Arraucos and the other neighbouring Indians , who, in a war againd the Spaniards , never, fail to join their forces. But even, independent oi an Indian revolt, there were two places only on all the coad of the South-Sea , which could be fuppofed capable of refiding our fquadron j thefe were the cities of Panama and Callao : As to the fird of thefe, its fortifications were fo de- cayed, and it was fo much in want of powder, that the President himielf. ( 286 ) himfelf, in an intercepted letter, acknowledged it was incapable of being defended ; whence I take it for granted, it would have given us but little trouble, efpecially if we had opened a communication acrofs the Ifthmus with our fleet on the other fide. And with regard to the city and port of Callao , its condition was not much better than that of Panama ; fince its walls are built upon the plain ground, without either outwork or ditch before them, and confift only of very flender feeble mafonry, without any earth behind them j fo that a battery of five or fix pieces of cannon, raifed any where within four or live hundred paces of the place, would have had a full view of the whole rampart, and would have opened it in a ihort time ; and the breach hereby formed, as the walls are fo ex- tremely thin, could not have been difficult of afcent ; for the ruins would have been but little higher than the furface of the ground ; and it would have yielded this particular advantage to the allailants, that the bullets, which grazed upon it, would have driven before them fuch fhivers of brick and done, as would have prevented the garrifon from forming behind it, fuppofmg that the troops em- ployed in the defence of the place, ffiould have fo far furpaffed the ulual limits of Creolian bravery, as to refolve to hand a general affault. Indeed, fuch a refoiution cannot be imputed to them ; for the garrifon and people were in general diffatisfied with the Viceroy’s behaviour, and were never expedted to adt a vigorous part. On the contrary, the Viceroy himfelf greatly apprehended that the Commodore would make him a vifit at Lima , the capital of the kingdom of Peru ; to prevent which, if poffible, he had ordered twelve gallies to be built at Guaiaquil and other places, which were intended to oppofe the landing of our boats, and to hinder us from puffiing our , men on ffiore. But this v/as an impracticable projedl of defence, and proceeded on the fuppo- fition that our Hups, when we ffiould land our men, would keep at fuch a diffiance, that thefe gallies, by drawing little water, would have been out of the reach of our guns ; whereas the Commodore, before he had made fuch an attempt, would doubt- \tll have been poffeiTed of feveral prize ffiips, which he would not ( 28 7 ) not have hefitated to have run on fhore for the protection of his boats ; and befides, there were many places on that coaft, and one particularly in the neighbourhood of Callao , where there was good anchoring, though a great depth of water, within a cable’s length of the fhore confequently the cannon of the men of war would have fwept all the coaft to above a mile’s diftance from the water’s edge, and would have effectually prevented any force from affembling, to oppofe the landing and forming of our men : And this landing-place had the additional advantage, that it was but two leagues diftant from Lima j fo that we might have been at that city within four hours after we fhould have been firft dif- covered from the fhore. The place I have in view is about two leagues South of Callao , and juft to the northward of the head- land called, in Frezier’s draught of that coaft, Morro Solar. Here there is feventy or eighty fathom of water, within two cables length of the fhore ; and here the Spaniards themfelves were fo apprehen- five of our attempting to land, that they had projected to build a fort clofe to the water ; but as there was no money in the royal chefts, they could not compleat fo conf derable a work, and there- fore they contented themfelves with keeping a guard of a hundred horfe there, that they might be fure to receive early notice of our appearance on that coaft. Indeed fome of them (as we were told) conceiving our management at fea to be as pufillanimous as their own, pretended that this was a road where the Commodore would never dare to hazard his flips, for fear that in fo great a depth of water their anchors could not hold them. And let it not be imagined, that I am proceeding upon ground- lefs and extravagant prefumptions, when I conclude, that fifteen hundred or a thoufand of our people, well conducted, fiould have been an over-match for any numbers the Spaniards could mufter in South America. Since, not to mention the experience we had of them 2lFaita and Petaplan, it muft be remembered, that our Com- modore was extremely folicitous to have all his men trained to the dexterous ufe of their fire-arms ; whereas the Spaniards , in this part of the world, were wretchedly provided with arms, and were very awkard ( 2 88 ) awkard in the management of the few they had : And though, on their repeated reprefentations, the Court of Spain had ordered feveral thoufand firelocks to be put on board Pizarro' s fquadron j yet thofe, it is evident, could not have been in America time enough to have been employed againd us. Hence then by our arms, and our readinefs in the ufe of them (not to infill: on the timidity and foftnefs of our enemy) we fhould in fome degree have had the fame ad- vantages, which the Spaniards themfelves had, on the fird difcovery of this country, againfi: its naked and unarmed inhabitants. Now let it in the next place be confidered what were the events which we had to fear, or what were the circumfiances which could have prevented us from giving law to all the coaft of South America , and thereby cutting off from Spain the refources which fhe drew from thofe immenfe provinces. By fea there was no force capable of oppofing us • for how foon foever we had failed, Pizarro' s fqua- dron could not have failed fooner than it did, and therefore could not have avoided the fate it met with. As we fhould have been mailers of the ports of Chili , we could there have fupplied our- lelves with the provifions we wanted in the greated plenty ; and from Baldivia to the equinoctial we ran no rifque of lofing our men by ficknefs, (that being of all climates the moll temperate and healthy) nor of having our fhips difabled by bad weather. And had we wanted failors to aflilt in the navigating our fquadron, whilft a confiderable proportion of our men were employed on fhore, we could not have failed of getting whatever numbers we pleafed in the ports we Ihould have taken, and from the prizes which would have fallen into our hands. For I mull obferve that the Indians , who are the principal mariners in that part of the world, are ex- tremely docile, and dexterous; and though they are not fit to ibruggle with the inclemencies of a cold climate, yet in temperate feas they are mod ufeful and laborious feamen. Thus then it appears, what important revolutions might have been brought about by our fquadron, had it departed from England as .early as it ought to have done : And from hence it is eafy to con- -.elude, what immenfe advantages might have thence accrued to the Public. ( 2S 9 ) public. For, as on our fuccefs it would have been impoflible that the kingdom of Spain fhould have received any treafure from the provinces bordering on the South-Seas , or fhould even have had any communication with them ; it is certain that the whole attention of that Monarchy would have been immediately employed in en- deavouring to regain thefe ineftimable territories, either by force of arms or compact. By the fird of thefe methods it was fcarcely poflible they could fucceed ; for it mull have been at lead a twelvemonth after our arrival, before any fhips from Spain could have got into the South-Seas , and when they had been there, they would have found themfelves without refource : Since they would probably have been feparated, difabled, and fickly ; and would then have had no port remaining in their poffeffion, where they could, either rendezvous or refit. Whild we might have been fup- plied acrofs the Idhmus with whatever neceffaries, dores, or even men we wanted j and might thereby have fupported our fquadron in as good a plight, as when it fil'd fet fail from St. Helens. In fhort, it required but little prudence fo to have conducted this bu- linefs, as to have rendered all the efforts of Spain , feconded by the power of France , ineffectual, and to have maintained our conqueds in defiance of them both. Whence they mud either have refolv- ed to have left Great-Britain midrefs of the wealth of South Ameri- ca, (the principal fupport of all their dedruCtive projects) or they mud have fubmitted to her terms, and have been contented to re- ceive thefe provinces back again, as an equivalent for fuch redac- tions to their future ambition, as fhe in her prudence fhould have dictated to them. Having thus difcuffed the prodigious weight which the operations of our Squadron might have added to the national influence of this kingdom ; I fhali here end this fecond book, referring to the next, the paffage of the fhattered remains of our force acrofs th t Pacific Ocean, and all their fubfequent tranf- aCtions till the Commodore’s arrival in England. END of BOOK XL B p A VOYAGE - \ . ' i ; 1 i ' *' t[h\' 7 } ; t ir. ■ ' - 5 ■ ’ : : •' i: i". . r"; • - ■ . •• a ,r ■ ■''' ■ ' ' 1 ,tA ■ <:a: r i . • ' „• ;• i ’ .* . w.i r i.r.-.n ■ < ' ■ . ■ • : - ’• -m ' rt , • • . T* ■' f f y . • . i ■ ■ ( 291 ) A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, &c. BOOK III. CHAP. L The run from the coaft of Mexico to the ILadrones or Marian Iilands. W HEN, on the 6th of May 1742, we left the coaft of America , we ftood to the S. W. with a view of meet- ing the N. E. trade-wind, which the accounts of former writers taught us to expedt at feventy or eighty leagues from the land. We had beftdes another reafon for ftanding to the fouthward, which was the getting into the latitude of 13 or 1 4 0 North j that being the parallel where the Pacific Ocean is moft ufually crofted, and confequently where the navigation is ef- teemed the fafeft : This laft purpofe we had foon anfwered, being in a day or two fufficiently advanced to the South. But though we were at the fame time more diftant from the fhore, than we had prefumed \V&s neceflary for the falling in with the trade-wind ; yet in this P p 2 parti- ( 292 ) particular we were mod grievoufly difappointed ; the wind dill con- tinuing to the westward, or at bed: variable. As the getting into the N. E. trade was to us a matter of the lad confequence, we dood yet more to the fouthward, and made many experiments, to meet with , it ; but all our efforts were for a long time unfuccefsful : So that it was feven weeks, from our leaving the coad, before we got into the true trade -wind. This was an interval, in which we had at fil'd believed we fliould well nigh have reached the eadermod parts of Jlfia :■ But we were fo baffled with the contrary and variable winds, which for all that time perplexed us, that we were not as yet advanced above a fourth of the way. The delay alone would have been a fufficient mortification ; but there were other circum- dances attending it, which rendered this fituation not lefs terrible, ' and our apprehenfions perhaps dill greater than in any of our pad calamities. For our two fflips were by this time extremely crazy ; and many days had not paffed, before we difcovered a fpring in the foremad of the Centurion , which rounded about twenty-fix inches of its circumference, and which was judged to be at lead four inches deep. And no fooner had the Carpenters fecured this mad with fiffling it, than the Gloucefler made a fignal of didrefs,, to inform us that die had a fpring in her main-mad, twelve feet; below the truffel-trees ; which appeared fo dangerous that die could not carry any fail upon it. Our Carpenters, on a dridt ex-, amination of this mad, found it exceffively rotten and decayed, and it being judged neceffary to cut it down as low as it was de- fective ; it was by this means reduced to nothing but a dump,, which ferved only as a dep to the top-mad. Thefe accidents aug- mented our delay, and being added to our other didreffes occafioned us great anxiety about our future fafety. For though after our de- parture from Juan Fernandes we had enjoyed a mod uninterrupted date of health, till our leaving the coad of Mexico j yet the fcurvy now began to make freffl havock amongd our people; And we too well knew the effe&s of this difeafe, by our former fatal experience, to fuppofe that any thing except a fpeedy paffage could r feeure ( 293 ) Secure the greater part of our crew from being deflroyed thereby. But as, after being feven weeks at fea, there did not appear any reafons that could perfuade us, we were nearer the trade-wind, than when we fet out, there was no ground for us to imagine, that our pajfage would not prove at leaf: three times as long as we at frit expected ; and confequently we had the melancholy profped:, either of dying by the fcurvy, or of perifhing with the fhip for want of hands to navigate her- Indeed, feveral amongft us were willing to believe, that in this warm climate, fo different from what we felt in palling round Cape Hern , the violence of this difeafe, and its fatality, might be in fome degree mitigated j as it had not been unufual to fuppofe that its particular virulence during that paf- fage was in a great meafure owing to the feverity of the weather : But the ravage of the diflemper, in our prefent circumflances, foon convinced us of the falfity of this fpeculation ; as it likewife ex- ploded certain other opinions, which ufually pafs current about the caufe and nature of this difeafe.. For it has been generally prefumed, that fufficient fupplies of wa- ter and of frefh provifions, are effectual preventives of this malady ; but it happened that in the prefent cafe we had a confiderable flock of frefh provifions on board, being the hogs and fowls, which were taken at Paita j we befides almofl daily caught great abun- dance of bonitos, dolphins, and albicores > and the unfettled feafon, which deprived us of the benefit of the trade-wind, proved extreme- ly rainy ; fo that we were enabled to fill up our water cafk, almofl as fall as they were empty ; and each man had five pints of water allowed him every day, during the paffage. But not with hand- ing this plenty of water, notwithflanding that the frefh provifions were diflributed amongfl the fick, and the whole crew often fed upon fifh j yet neither were the fick hereby relieved, or the pro- grefs or malignity of the difeafe at ail abated. Nor was it in thefe inflances only that we found the general maxims upon this head; defedive : For though it has been ufually efleemed a neceffary piece of management to keep all fhips, where the crews are large, as clean and airy between, decks as pohible 5 and it Bath been be- lieved ( 2 9 + ) lieved by many, that this particular alone, if well attended to,' would prevent the appearance of the fcurvy, or at lead: mitigate its virulence j yet we obferved, during the latter part of our run, that though we kept all our ports open, and took uncommon pains in cleanfing and fweetning the (hips, the difeafe dill raged with as much violence as ever ; nor did its advancement feem to be there- by fenfibly retarded. However, I would not be underdood to adert, that frefh pro- vifions, plenty of water, and a condant fupply of fweet air between decks, are matters of no moment : I am, on the contrary, well fatisfied, that they are all of them articles of great importance, and are doubtlefs extremely conducive to the health and vigour of a crew, and may in many cafes prevent this fatal malady from taking place. All I have aimed at, in what I have advanced, is only to evince, that in fome indances, both the cure, and prevention of this malady, is impoffible to be effected by any management, or by the application of any remedies which can be made ufe of at fea. Indeed, I am myfelf fully perfuaded, that when it has got to a certain head, there are no other means in nature for relieving the fick, but carrying them on fhore, or at lead bringing them into the neighbourhood of the land. Perhaps a didindt and adequate knowledge of the fource of this difeafe may never be difeovered j but in general, there is no difficulty in conceiving, that as a con- tinued fupply of frefh air is neceflary to all animal life, and as this air is lb particular a fluid, that without lofing its eladicity, or any of its obvious properties, it may be rendered unfit for this purpofe, by the mixing with it fome very fubtle and otherwife imperceptible effluvia ; it may be eafily conceived, I fay, that the deams arifing from the ocean may have a tendency to render the air they are fpread through lefs properly adapted to tire fupport of the life of lerredrial animals, unlefs thefe deams are corrected by effluvia of another kind, which perhaps the land alone can afford. To what hath been already faid in relation to this difeafe, I fhall add, that our furgeon (who during our pafiage round Cape Horn, had aferibed the mortality we differed to the feverity of the climate) exerted ( 295 ) exerted himfelf in the prefent run to the utmoft : But he at lad: de- clared, that all his meafures were totally ineffectual, and did not in the lead: avail his patients. On this it was refoived by the Com- modore to try the fuccefs of two medicines, which, juft before his departure from England, were the fubjeCt of much difcourfe, I mean the pill and drop of Mr. Ward. For however violent the operations of thefe medicines are faid to have fometimes proved, yet in the prefent inftance, where, without fome remedy, deftruCtion feemed inevitable, the experiment at leaft was thought advifeable : And therefore, one or both of them, at different times, were adminiftred to perfons in every ftage of the diftemper. Out of the numbers who took them, one, foon after fwallowing the pill* was feized with a violent bleeding at the nofe : He was before given over by the furgeon, and lay almoft at the point of death j but he immediately found himfelf much better, and continued to recover, though flow- ly, till we arrived on ftiore, which was near a fortnight after. A few others too were relieved for fome days, but the difeafe returned again with as much virulence as ever. Though neither did thefe, nor the reft, who received no benefit, appear to- be reduced to a worfe condition than they would have been if they had taken nothing. The moft remarkable property of thefe medicines, and what was obvious in almoft every one that took them, was, that they aCted in proportion to the vigour of the patient ; fo that thofe who were within two or three days of dying were fcarcely affeCted j and as the patient was differently advanced in the difeafe, the operation was either a gentle perfpiration, an eafy vomit, or a moderate purge. : But if they were taken by one in full ftrength, they then produced all the forementioned effeCts with confiderable violence, which fometimes continued for fix or eight hours together with little in- termiflion. However, let us return to the profecution of our voyage.. I have already obferved-, that, a. few days after our running ofT the coaft of Mexico , the Gloucefter had her main-maft cut down to. a ftump, and we were obliged to fifh our fore-maft ; and that thefe misfortunes were greatly aggravated, by our meeting with contrary and. ( 29 6 ) and variable winds for near feven weeks. I fhall now add, that when we reached the trade-wind, and it fettled between the North and the Ead, yet it feldom blew with fo much drength, that the Centurion might not have carried all her fmall fails abroad without the lead danger ; fo that, had we been a fingle fliip, we might have run down our longitude apace, and have arrived at the Ladrones foon enough to have recovered great numbers of our men, who afterwards perilhed. But the Gloucejier , by the lofs of her main- mad, failed fo very heavily, that we had" feldom any more than our top-fails fet, and yet were frequently obliged to lie to for her : And, I conceive, that on the whole we lod little lefs than a month by our attendance upon her, in confequence of the various mif- chances die encountered. During all this run it was remarkable, that we were rarely many days together, without feeing great num- bers of birds ; which is a proof that there are feveral iflands, or at lead rocks, fcattered all along, at no very confiderable didance from our track. Some indeed there are marked in the Spanijh chart, hereafter inferted j but the frequency of thefe birds feems to afcer- tain, that there are many more than have been hitherto difcover- ed : For the mod part of the birds, we obferved, were fuch as are known to rood on diore ; and the manner of their appearance fufficiently evinced, that they came from fome didant haunt every morning, and returned thither again in the evening j fince we never law them early or late j and the hour of their arrival and departure gradually varied, which we fuppofed was occafioned by our run- ning nearer their haunts, or getting farther from them. The trade-wind continued to favour us without any fluctuation, from the end of June till towards the end of July . But on the 26th of July, being then, as we edeemed, about three hundred leagues from the Ladrones , we met with a wederly wind, which did not come about again to the eadward in four days time. This was a mod difpiriting incident, as it at once damped all our hopes of fpeeay relief ; efpecially too as it was attended with a vex- atious accident to the Gloucejier : For in one part of thefe four days the ( 297 ) the wind flatted to a calm, and the fhips rolled very deep ; by which means the Gloucejler s forecap fplitting, her fore-top mail came by the board, and broke her fore-yard diredlly in the flings. As flie was hereby rendered incapable of making any fail for fome time, we were under a neceflity, as foon as a gale fprung up, to take her in tow ; and near twenty of the healthieft and ablelb of our feamen were removed from the duty of our own ihip, and were continued eight or ten days together on board the Gloucejler to affift in repairing her damages : But thefe things, mortifying as we thought them, were only the com- mencement of our difafters ; for fcarce had our people finifhed their bufinefs in the Gloucejler , before we met with a molt vio- lent ftorm from the weftern board, which obliged us to lie to. At the beginning of this ftorm our fhip fprung a leak, and let in fo much water, that all our people, officers included, were con- ftantly employed about the pumps : And the next day we had the vexation to fee the Gloucejler , with her fore-top mart once more by the board. Nor was that the whole of her calamity ; fince whilfl: we were viewing her with great concern for this new dif- ftrefs, we faw her main-top maft, which had hitherto ferved her as a jury main-maft, fhare the fame fate. This compleated our misfortunes, and rendered them without refource : For we knew the Gloucejler ' s crew were fo few and feeble, that without our af- fiftance they could not be relieved : Whilfl; at the fame time our fick were now fo far encreafed, and thofe who remained in health fo continually fatigued with the additional duty of our pumps, that it was impoffible for us to lend them any aid. Indeed we were not as yet fully apprized of the deplorable fituation of tire GlouceJ'- ter's crew ; for when the ftorm abated, (which during its continu- ance prevented alL communication with them) the Gloucejler bore up under- our ftern ; and Captain Mitckel informed the Commodore, that befides the lofs of his rriafts, which was all that was vilibie to us, the ftiip had then no lefs than feven feet of water in her hold,- although his officers and men had been kept conftantly at the pumps for the laft twenty-four hours. q This ( 29 8 ) This new circumrtance was indeed a moft terrible accumulation to the other extraordinary diftrefies of the Gloucejier , and required, if poffible, the moft fpeedy and vigorous affiftance ; which Captain Mitchel begged the Commodore to afford him : But the debility of our people, and our own immediate prefervation, rendered it im- practicable for the Commodore to comply with his requeft. All that could be done was to fend our boat on board for a more particular account of the drip’s condition ; as it was foon fufpefted that the taking her people on board us, and then deftroying her, was the only meafure that could be profecuted in the prefent emergency,, both for the fecurity of their lives and of our own. Our boat foon returned with a reprefentation of the ftate of the Gloucejier , and of her feveral defeats, figned by Captain Mitchel and ail his officers ; whence it appeared, that fhe had fprung a leak by the rtern poll; being loofe, and working with every roll of the drip, and by two beams a midfhips being broken in the orlope ; no part of which, as the Carpenters reported, could poffibly be repaired at fea : That both officers and men had wrought twenty-four hours at the pump without intermiliion, and, were at length fo fatigued, that they could continue their labour no longer ; but had been forced to defift, with feven feet of water in the hold, which covered all their cafk, fo that they could neither come at frefh water, nor pro- vifion : That they had no mart handing, except the fore-maft, the mizen-maft, and the mizen top-mart, nor had they any fpare marts to get up in the room of thofe they had lort That the fhip was befides extremely decayed in every part ; for her knees and clamps were all become quite loofe, and her upper works in general were fo crazy, that the quarter-deck was ready to drop down : That her crew was greatly reduced, as there remained alive on board her, officers included, no more than feventy-feven men, eighteen boys, and two prifoners, and that of this whole number, only fixteen men, and eleven boys were capable of keeping the deck, feveral of thefe too being very infirm.. the f 299 ) . 'The Commodore, on the perufal of this melancholy reprefenta* tion, prefently ordered them a fupply of water and provilions, of which they feemed to be in the mol prefling want, and at the fame time fent his own Carpenter on board them, to examine into the truth of every particular ; and it being found, on the ftridteft en- quiry, that the preceding account was in no inftance exaggerated, it plainly appeared, there was no po {Ability of preferving the Gloucejier any longer, as her leaks were irreparable, and the united hands on, board both fhips, would not be able to free her j could we have fpared the whole of our crew to her relief. What then could be refolved on, when it was the utmoft we ourfelves could do to ma- nage our own pumps ? Indeed there was no room for deliberation ; the only ftep to be taken was, the faving the lives of the few that remained on board the Gloucejier, and the getting out of her as much as we could before £he was deftroyed. The Commodore therefore immediately fent an order to Captain Mitchel , to put his people on board the Centurion , as expeditioufiy as he could, now the weather was calm and favourable ; and to take out fuch {lores as he could get at, whilft the {hip could be kept above Water. And as our leak required lefs attention, whilft the prefent eafy weather continued, we fent our boats with as many men as we could fpare to Captain Mitchel' s aftiftance. The removing the Gloucejier' s people on board us, and the get- ting out fuch {lores as could moft eaftly be come at, gave us full employment for two days. Mr. Anfon was extremely defirous to have faved two of her cables and an anchor, but the fhip rolled fo much, and the men were fo exceftively fatigued, that they were incapable of effecting it j nay, it was even with the greateft diffi- culty that the prize money, which the Gloucejier had taken in the South-Seas , was fecured, and fent on board the Centurion: How*- 'ever, the prize goods in the Gloucejier , which amounted to feveral thoufand pounds in value, and were principally the Centurion' s pro- perty, were entirely loft ; nor could any more provifion be got out than five cafk of flower, three of which were fpoiled by the fait- 0.9 4 water. ( 3 °« ) vaster. Their fick men amounting to near feventy, were conveyed into the boats with as much care as the circumftances of that time would permit ; but three or four of them expired as they were hoifting them into the Centurion . It was the 15th of Augujl , in the evening, before the Gloucefter was cleared of every thing that was propofed to be removed and though the hold was now almoft full of water, yet, as the Car- penters were of opinion that fhe might ftill fwim for fome time, if the calm fhould continue, and the water become fmooth, it was refolved fhe fhould be burnt j as we knew not how little diftant we might be at prefent from the Ifland of Guam , which was in the pof-r feffion of our enemies, to whom the wreck of fuch a fhip would have been no contemptible acquifition. When die was fet on fire. Captain Mitcbel and his officers left her, and came on board the Centurion : And we immediately flood from the wreck, not with- out fome apprehenfions (as we had only a light breeze) that if fhe blew up foon, the concuffion of the air might damage our rig- ging : but fhe fortunately continued burning the whole night ; fo that though her guns fired fucceffively, as the flames reached them ; yet it was fix in the morning, when we were about four leagues diftant, before fhe blew up. The report fhe made upon this occafion was but fmall ; although the blaft produced an exceeding black pillar of fmoke, which fhot up into the air to a very con- fiderable height. Thus perifhed his Majefty’s fhip the Gloucefter . And now it might have been expedted, that being freed from the embarraf- ments which her frequent difafters had involved us in, we fhould have proceeded on our way much brifker than we had hitherto done, efpecially as we had received fome fmall addition to our ftrength, by the taking on board the Gloucefter ' s crew. How- ever we were foon taught that our anxieties were not yet to be relieved j and that notwithftanding all we had already fuf- fered, there remained much greater diftreffes, which we were ftill to iftruggle with. For the late ftorm, which had proved fo fatal to the Gloucefter , had driven us to the northward of our ( 3°i ) pur intended courfe ; and the current fetting the fame way, after the weather abated, had forced us yet a degree or two farther, fo that we were now in 17 0 -1 of North latitude, inftead of being in 13° i., which was the parallel we propofed to keep, in order to teach the Illand of Guam. As it had been a perfect calm for fome days fince the ceflation of the ftorm, and we were ignorant how near we were to the meridian of the Ladrones , though we fuppoled ourfelves not to be far from it ; we apprehended that we might be driven to the leeward of them by the current, without difcovering them. On this fuppofition, the only land we could make would be fome of the eaftern parts of Afin, where, if we could arrive, we fhould find the weftern monfoon in its full force, fo that it would be impoflible for the ftouteft beft manned fhip to get in. Befides, this coaft being between four and five hundred leagues diftant from us, we, in our languifhing circumftances, could exped: no other than to be deftroyed by the fcurvy, long before the moll favourable gale could enable us to compleat fo extenfive a navigation. For our deaths were by this time extremely alarming, no day palling in which we did not bury eight or ten, and fometimes twelve of our men 5 and thofe, who had as yet continued healthy, began to fall down apace. Indeed we made the beft ufe we could of the prefent calm, by employing our Carpenters in fearching after the leak, which, notwithftanding the little wind we had, was now confiderable. The Carpenters at length difcovered it |o be in the Gunner’s fore ftore-room, where the water rufhed in under the breaft-hook, on each fide of the ftem ; but though they found where it was, they agreed it was impoflible to hop it, till they could come at it on the outfide ; which was evidently a matter not to be attempted till we fhould arrive in port. However, they did the beft they could within board, and were fortunate enough to reduce it, which was a confiderable relief to us. We hitherto confidered the calm which fucceeded the ftorm, and which had now continued for fome days, as a very great misfortune ; fince the currents were all the time driving us to the northward of : - ' our ( 3®'2 ) bur parallel, and we thereby rifqued the miffing of the Ladroms, which we at prefent conceived ourSelves to be very near. But when* a gale fprung up, our condition was Bill worfe ; for it blew from the S. W, and consequently was directly oppofed to* the courts we want* ed to Beer : And though it Soon- veered to the N. E, yet- this ferved only to tantalize us, as it returned back again in a very Short time to its old quarter. However, on the 2 ad of Attguft we had’ the fatif- fadtion to find that the current was Shifted ; and had Set us to the Southward. And the 23 d, at day-break, we were cheered with the difeovery of two islands in the weftern board. This gave us all great joy, and raifed our drooping Spirits j for tilt then an univer- fal dejedtion had feized us, and we almoft defpaired of ever feeing land again.- The neareft of thefe islands j as we learnt afterwards, was Anatacan ; this we judged to be full fifteen leagues from us, it feemed to be high land, though of an indifferent length : The other was the ISland of Serigan ; which had rather the appearance of a rock, than of a place we could hope to anchor at. The view of thefe islands is inferted at the top of the annexed plan. We were extremely impatient to get in with the neareil island, where we expedted to find anchoring ground, and an opportu- nity pf refreshing our Sick. But the wind proved fo variable all day, and there was fo little of it, that we advanced towards it but Slowly j however, by the next morning we were got fo far to the weftward, that we were in fight of a third Ifland, which was that of Paxaros , and which is marked in the chart only as a rock. This was very fmall, and the land low, fo that we had paSTed within left than a mile of it, in the night, without obferving it. At noon, be- ing then not four miles from the ISland of Anatacan , the boat was fent away to examine the anchoring-ground and the produce of the place ; and we were not a little folicitous for her return, as we conceived our fate to depend upon the report we Should re- ceive : For the other two Iflands were obviouSly enough incapable of furn idling us with any affiftance, and we knew not that there were any befides which we could reach. In the evening the bout A Plan of die Harbour of Acapulco cm tJu' Cba/tgfUitanco ini y South Sea. i/i t/ie Latitude ofjo 0 4 $ ’N.andWe/t longitude ti'can landtrn jo&.’wz A .The Harbour- B . TheTonm ■ (runs C .7 'he l2i/ 2* ofJ?J7iyo. /utvuy. ion. D 4 HleevJBa/bianr n'ith 5 A T..A Battery with- - 7' T . The Wa/enny JViMf . C Pun to ifet (frnfh. rvherr thy are luuldirta aJTewFort iv/uc/ &r to mou/itjo. H . TkeJRoaAto the (xty ofJHe.vtco. I . The irovemorr Plan/ationj . K.Loofr outHou/eo. I- . The /flan J ivithout t/u- Harbour. M. lbrtJWajyuu'. 2J .A Plantation . OJTfiK’T/ •. v.' n huh //. Manila . •tbv-u/j her a Table to ■ I ( 3°3 boat came back, and the crew informed us thafc there was no road for a (hip to anchor in, the bottom being every where foul ground, and all, except one fmall fpot, not dels than fifty fathom in depth 5 that on that fpot there was thirty fathom, though not above half a mile from the fhore ; and that the bank was fteep to, and could not be depended on : They farther told us, that they had landed on the Ifland, not without fome difficulty on account of the greatnefs of the fwell ; that they found the ground was «very where covered with a kind of wild cane, or rufh ; but that they met with no water, and did not believe the place to be inhabited 5 though the foil was good, and abounded with groves of coco-nut-trees. The account of the impoffibility of anchoring at this Illand occa- fioned a general melancholy on board ; for we confidered it as little lefs than the prelude to our deftruCtion ; and our defpondency was encreafed by a difappointment we met with the fucceeding night j when, as we were plying under top-fails, with an intention of getting nearer to the Ifland, and of fending our boat on fhore to load with coco-nuts for the refreshment of our lick, the wind proved fqually, and blew fo ftrong off fhore, that we were driven too far to the fouthward, to venture to fend off our boat. And now the only poffible circumffance, that could fecure the few which remained alive from perifhing, was the accidental falling in with fome other of the Ladrone Ifiands, better prepared for our accommodation ; but as our knowledge of thefe Ifiands was extremely imperfedf, we were to truft entirely to chance for our guidance ; only as they are all of them ufhally laid down near the fame meridian, and we con- ceived thofe we had already feen to be part of them, we concluded to ftand to the fouthward, as the mod: probable means of difcover- ing the reft. Thus, with the moft gloomy perfuafion of cur ap- proaching deftrudtion, we flood from the Ifland of An at ac an , hav- ing all of us the ftrongeft apprehenfions (and thofe not ill grounded) either of dying by the fcurvy, or of being deftroyed with the Ship, which, for want of hands to work her pumps, might in a fhort time be expected to founder,- C H A 1 304 ) . • w »• • « *■ r- C H A P. II. Our arrival at Tinian , and an account of the Ifland, and of our proceedings there, till the Centurion drove out to fea. I T was the 26th of Augujl , 1742, in the morning, when we loft fight of the Ifland of Anatacan, dreading that it was the laft land we fhould ever fix our eyes on. But the next morn- ing we difcovered three other Iflands to the eaftward, which were between ten and fourteen leagues diftant from us. Thefe were, as we afterwards learnt, the Iflands of Saypan , Tinian , and Aguigan. We immediately fleered towards Tinian , which was the middlemoft of the three, but we had fo much of calms and light airs, that though we were helped forwards by the cur- rents, yet on the morrow, at day-break, we had not advanced nearer than within five leagues of it. However, we kept on our courfe, and about ten o’clock we perceived a proa under fail to the fouthward, between Tinian and Aguigan. As we imagined from hence that thefe Iflands were inhabited, ’and knew that the Spaniards had always a force at Guam , we took the necefiary precautions for our own fecurity : And endeavoured to prevent the enemy as much as poftible from making an advantage of our prefent wretched circumftances, of which we feared they would be fufficiently informed by the manner of our working the fhip. We therefore muftered all our hands, who were capable of Handing to their arms, and loaded our upper and quarter-deck guns with grape- jfhot 5 and that we might the more readily procure fome intelligence of the ftate of thefe Iflands, we fhowed Spanijh colours, and hoifl- ed a red flag at- the fore tcp-maft-head, hoping thereby to give our fhip the appearance of the Manila galcon, and to decoy fome of the inhabitants on board us. Thus preparing ourfelves, and {landing towards the land, we were near enough, at three in the afternoon, to fend the Cutter in fliore, to find out a proper birth for the fhip ; ( 3°S ) and we foon perceived that a proa put off from the ifland to meet the Cutter, fully perfuaded, as we afterwards found, that we were the Manila (hip. As we faw the Cutter returning with the proa in tow, we inftantly fent the Pinnace to receive the proa and the prifoners, and to bring them on board, that the Cutter might pro- ceed on her errand. The Pinnace came back with a Spaniard and four Indians , which were the people taken in the proa : And the Spaniard being immediately examined as to the produce and cir- cumftances of this Ifland of Tinian , his account of it furpaffed even our mod fanguine hopes. For he informed us that though it was uninhabited (which in itfelf, confidering our prefent defence- lefs condition, was a convenience not to be defpifed) yet it wanted but few of the accommodations that could be expedted in the mod cultivated country. In particular he affured us, that there was plenty of very good water, that there were an incredible num- ber of cattle, hogs, and poultry running wild on the Ifland, all of them excellent in their kind ; that the woods afforded fweet and fower oranges, limes, lemons and coco-nuts in great abun- dance, befides a fruit peculiar to thefe Iflands, which ferved inftead of bread ; that from the quantity and goodnefs of the provifions produced here, the Spaniards at Guam made ufe of it as a ffore for fupplying the garrifon ; and that he himfelf was a Serjeant of that garrifon, who was fent hither with twenty-two Indians to jerk beef, which he was to load for Guam on board a fmall bark of about fifteen tun, which lay at anchor near the fhore, This relation was received by us with inexpreflible joy : Part of it we were ourfelves able to verify on the fpot, as we were by this time near enough to difcover feveral numerous herds of cattle feed- ing in different places of the Ifland ; and we did not any ways doubt the reft of his narration ; fince the appearance of the fhore prejudiced us greatly in its favour, and made us hope, that not only our neceflities might be there fully relieved, and our difeafed reco- vered, but that, amidft thofe pleafing fcenes which were then in view, we might procure ourfelves fome amufement and relaxation, after the numerous fatigues we had undergone. For the profpedt of R r the f 306 ) the country did by no means refemble that of an uninhabited and uncultivated place ; but had much more the air of a magnificent plantation, where large lawns and flately woods had been laid out together with great fkill, and where the whole had been fo artfully combined, and fo judicioufly adapted to the Hopes of the hills, and the inequalities of the ground, as to produce a mofl flriking effedl, and to do honour to the invention of the contriver. Thus, (an event not unlike what we had already feen) we were forced upon the mod defirable and falutary meafures by accidents, which at firfl fight we confidered as the greatefl of misfortunes ; for had we not been driven by the contrary winds and currents to the northward of our courfe, (a circumftance, which at that time gave us the mofl terrible apprehenfions) we fhould, in all probability, never have ar- rived at this delightful Ifland, and confequently we fhould have milled of that place, where alone all our wants could be mofl amp- ly relieved, our lick recovered, and our enfeebled crew once more refrefhed, and enabled to put again to fea. The Spanijh Serjeant, from whom we received the account of the Ifland, having informed us that there were fome Indians on fhore under his command, employed in jerking beef, and that there was a bark at anchor to take it on board ; we were defirous, if pofiible, to prevent the Indians from efcaping, fince they would cer- tainly have given the Governor of Guam intelligence of our arrival* we therefore immediately difpatched the Pinnace to fecure the bark, ' as the Serjeant told us that was the only imbarkation on the place ; and then, about eight in the evening, we let go our anchor in twenty-two fathom. But though it was almofl calm, and whatever vigour and fpirit was to be found on board was doubtlefs exerted to the utmofl on this pleafing occafion, when, after having kept the fea for fome months, we were going to take poffeffion of this little para- dife ; yet we were full five hours in furling our fails. It is true, we were fomewhat weakened by the crews of the Cutter and Pin- nace which were fent on fhore ; but it is not lefs true, that, includ- ing thofe abfent with the boats and fome Negroe and Indian pri- foners, all the hands we could mufler capable of Handing at a gun amounted ( 3°7 ) amounted to no more than feventy-one, moft of which too were incapable of duty, except on the greateft emergencies. This, in- confiderable as it may appear, was the whole force we could col- led;, in our prefent enfeebled condition, from the united crews of the Centurion , the Gloucejier , and the Try^/, which, when we de- parted from England , confifted all together of near a thoufand hands. When we had furled our fails, our people were allowed to re- pofe themfelves during the remainder of the night to recover them from the fatigue they had undergone. But in the morning a party was fent on Ihore well armed, of which I myfelf was one, to make ourfelves mailers of the landing place, fince we were not certain what oppofition might be made by the Indians on the Illand : We landed however without difficulty ; for the Indians having per- ceived, by our feizure of the bark the night before, that we Were enemies, they immediately fled into the woody parts of the Illand. We found on Ihore many huts which they had inhabited, and which laved us both the time and trouble of erecting tents ; one of thefe huts which the Indians made ufe for a llore-houfe was very large, being twenty yards long, and fifteen broad : This we im- mediately cleared of fome bales of jerked beef, which had been left in it, and converted it into an hofpital for our lick, who aflbon as the place was ready to receive them were brought on Ihore, being in all a hundred and twenty-eight. Numbers of thefe were fo very helplefs, that we were obliged to carry them from the boats to the hofpital upon our ffioulders, in which humane employment (as before at Juan Fernandes ) the Commodore himfelf, and every one of his officers, were engaged without diftindtion and, notwith- ftanding the extreme debility and the dying afpedts of the greateft part of our lick, it is almoft incredible how Icon they began to feel the falutary influence of the land : For, though we buried twenty- one men on this and the preceeding day, yet we did not loofe above ten men more during the whole two months we ftaid here : But our difeafed in general, reaped fo much benefit from the fruits of the Illand, particularly thole of the acid kind, that, in a week’s time, there were but few of them who were not fo far recovered, as to be able to move about without help. R r 2 Being ( 3° 8 ) Being now in fome fort eftablifhed at this place, we were enab- led more diftin&ly to examine its qualities and productions ; and that the reader may the better judge of our manner of life here, and! future Navigators be better apprized of the conveniencies we met with, I (hall, before I proceed any farther in the hiftory of our own adventures, throw together the mod; interefting particulars that came to our knowledge, relating to the fituation, foil, produce, and accommodations of this Ifland of Tinian. This Bland lies in the latitude of 15° : 8' North, and longitude from Acapulco 1 14 0 : 50' Weft. Bs length is about twelve miles, and its breadth about half as much ; it extending from the S. S. W. to N. N. E. The foil is every where dry and healthy, and being withal fomewhat fandy, it is thereby the lefs difpofed to a rank and over luxuriant vegetation j and hence the meadows and the bottoms of the woods are much neater and fmoother, than is cuftomary in hot climates. The land rofe in gentle dopes from the very beach where we watered, to the middle of the Bland, though the general courfe of its afcent was often interrupted by val- lies of an eafy defcent, many of which wind irregularly through the country. Theft vallies and the gradual dwellings of the ground, which their different combinations gave rife to, were moft beauti- fully diverftfied by the mutual encroachments of woods and lawns, which coafted each other, and traverftd the Bland in large traits. The woods conftfted of tall and well fpread trees, the greateft part of them, celebrated either for their afpeit, or their fruit Whilft the lawns were ufually of a conftderable breadth, their turf quite clean and uniform, it being compofed of a very fine trefoil, which was intermixed with a variety of flowers. The woods too were in many places open, and free from all bufhes and under- wood, fo that they terminated on the lawns with a well defined out- line, where neither fhrubs nor weeds were to be feen j but the neat- nefs of the adjacent turf was frequently extended to a conftderable diftance, under the hollow fhade formed by the trees. Hence arofe a great number of the moft elegant and entertaining profpefts, ac- cording to the different blendings of thefe woods and lawns, and their ( 3 ® 9 ) their various interfedtions with each other, as they fpread them- felves differently through the vallies, and over the dopes and de- clivities in which the place abounded. Nor were the allurements of 'Tinian confined to the excellency of its landfkips only } fince the fortunate animals, which during the greateff part of the year are the foie lords of this happy foil, partake in fome meafure of the romantic caff of the Ifland, and are no fmall addition to its won- derful feenary : For the cattle, of which it is not uncommon to- fee herds of fome thoufands feeding together in a large meadow, are certainly the moll remarkable in the world j as they are all of them milk-white, except their ears, which are generally brown or black. And though there are no inhabitants here, yet the clamour und frequent parading of domeftic poultry, which range the woods in great numbers, perpetually excite the idea of the neighbourhood' of farms and villages, and greatly contribute to the chearfulnefs and beauty of the place. The cattle on Tinian we computed were at leaff ten thoufand ; we had no difficulty in getting near them, for they were not at all fhy of us. Our firft method of killing them was fhooting them ; but at laft, when, by accidents to be hereafter recited, we were obliged to hufband our ammunition,, our men ran them down with eafe. Their flefh was extremely well tafted, and was believed by us to be much more eafily digeft- ed, than any we had ever met with. The fowls too were exceed- ing good, and were likewife run down with little trouble ; for they could fcarce fiy further than an hundred yards at a flight, and even that fatigued them to fuch a degree,, that they could not readily rife again ; fo that, aided by the opennefs of the woods, we could at all times furnifh ourfelves with whatever number we wanted. Befides the cattle and the poultry, we found here abundance of wild hogs : Thefe were moll excellent food ; but as they were a very fierce animal, we were obliged either to fhoot them, or to hunt them with large dogs, which we found upon the place at our landing, and which belonged to the detachment which was then upon the Ifland amafling provifions for the garrifon of Guam . As thefe dogs had been purpofely trained to the killing of the wild? ( 3 10 ) wild hogs, they followed us very readily, and hunted for us j but though they were a large bold breed, the hogs fought with fo much fury, that they frequently destroyed them, whence we by degrees loft the greated part of them. This place was not only extremely grateful to us from the plenty and excellency of its frefh provifions, but was as much perhaps to be admired on account of its fruits and vegetable productions, which were moll fortunately adapted to the cure of the fea fcurvy, the dif- eafe which had fo terribly reduced us. For in the woods there were inconceivable quantities of coco-nuts, with the cabbages growing on the fame tree : There were belides guavoes, limes, fweet and fower oranges, and a kind of fruit, peculiar to thefe Illands, called by the Indians Rbymay , but by us the Bread Fruit , for it was com ftantly eaten by us during our day upon the Wand inftead of bread, and fo univerfally preferred to it, that no flip’s bread was expendr ed in that whole interval. It grew upon a tree which is fome- what lofty, and which, towards the top, divides into large and fpreading branches. The leaves of this tree are of a remark- able deep green, are notched about the edges, and are generally from a foot to eighteen inches in length. The fruit itfelf is found indifferently on all parts of the branches ; it is in fhape rather elip- tical than round, it is covered with a rough rind, and is ufually feven or eight inches long ; each of them grows fingly, and not in clufters. This fruit is fitted; to be ufed, when it is full grown, but dill green ; in which date, after it is properly prepared by being roaded in the embers, its tade has fome didant relemblance to that of an artichoke’s bottom, and its texture is not very diffe- rent, for it is foft and fpungy. As it ripens it becomes fofter, and of a yellow colour, when it contracts a lufcious tade, and an agree- able fmell, not unlike a ripe peach ; but then it is edeemed un- wholefome, and is faid to produce fluxes. I diall only add, that it is defcribed both by Dampier , and in Ray's Hijlory of Plants : And that in the annexed view of the watering-place, there is drawn one of the trees bearing this fruit, being that marked with the letter (r). Befides the fruits already enumerated, there were many other ( 3 ” ) other vegetables extremely conducive to the cure of the malady we had long laboured under, fuch as water-melons, dandelion, creeping purflain, mint, fcurvy-grafs, and forrel ; all which, together with the frefh meats of the place, we devoured with great eagernefs, prompted thereto by the fflong inclination, which, in fcorbutic diforders, nature never fails of exciting for thofe powerful fpecifics- It will eafily be conceived from what hath been already faid 5 , that our cheer upon this Ifland was in fome degree luxurious ; but I have not yet recited all the varieties of provifion which we here indulged in. Indeed we thought it prudent totally to abftain from fifli, the few we caught at our firft arrival having furfeited thofe who eat of them ; but confidering how much we had been inured to that fpecies of food, we did not regard this circumftance as a difadvantage, efpecially as the defed! was fo amply fupplied by the beef, pork and fowls already mentioned, and by great plenty of wild fowl ; for it is to be remembered, that near the center of the Ifland there were two conflderable pieces of frefh water, which abounded with duck, teal and curlew : Not to mention the whiffling plover, which we found there in prodigious plenty.. It may now perhaps be wondered at, that an Ifland, fo exqui- fitely furnifhed with the conveniences of life, and fo well adapted, not only to the fubfiflence,. but likewife to the enjoyment of man- kind, fliould be entirely deffltute of inhabitants, efpecially as it is in the neighbourhood of other Iflands, which in fome meafure depend upon this for their fupport. To obviate this difficulty, I muft obferve, that it is not fifty years fince the Ifland was de- populated. The Indians we had in our cuflody aflured us, that for- merly the three Iflands of 1 Tinian , Ret a and Guam y were all full of inhabitants ; and that I’inian alone contained thirty thoufand fouls : But a ficknefs raging among!! thefe Iflands, which defiroyed mul- titudes of the people, the Spaniards , to recruit their numbers at Guam , which were extremely diminifhed by the mortality, ordered all the inhabitants of I’inian thither ; where, languiffling for their former habitations, and their cufiomary method of life, die greatef! part of them in a few years died of grief. Indeed, independent of that ( 3'2 ) that attachment which all mankind have ever Ihown to the places of their birth and bringing up, it (hould feem, from what has been already faid, that there were few countries more worthy to be re- gretted than this of Tinian. Thefe poor Indians might reafonably have expected, at the great di fiance from Spain , where they were placed, to have efcaped the violence and cruelty of that haughty Nation, fo fatal to a large proportion of the whole human race : But it feems their remote fituation could not protedt them from iharing in the common de- firudtion of the wefiern world j all the advantage they received from their difiance, being only to perilh an age or two later. It may perhaps be doubted, if the number of the inhabitants of Tinian y who were banilhed to Guam, and who died there pining for their native home, was fo confiderable, as what we have related above ; but, not to mention the concurrent aflertion of our prifoners, and the commodioufnefs of the Illand, and its great fertility, there are Bill remains to be met with on the place, which Blow it to have been once extremely populous. For there are, in all parts of the Bland, many ruins of a very particular kind : Thefe ufually con- fid: of two rows of fquare pyramidal pillars, each pillar being about dx feet from the next, and the difiance between the rows being about twelve feet ; the pillars themfelves are about five feet fquare at the bafe, and about thirteen feet high j and on the top of each of them there is a femi-globe, with the flat furface upwards ; the whole of the pillars and femi-globe is folid, being compofed of fand and fione cemented together, and plaiBered over. This odd fabrick will be better underBood, by infpedting the view of the watering-place inferted above ; where an aflemblage of thefe pillars is drawn, and is denoted by the letter (a). If the account our pri- fbners gave us of thefe firudtures was true, the Bland muB indeed have been moB extraordinarily well peopled ; fince they allured us, that they were the foundations of particular buildings fet apart for thofe Indians only, who had engaged in fome religious vow ; mo- nadic infiitutions being often to be met with in many Pagan na- tions. However, if thefe ruins were originally the balls of the com- mon ( 3 1 3 ) mon dwelling-houfes of the natives, their numbers muft have been confiderable j for in many parts of the Ifland they are extremely thick planted, and fufficiently evince the great plenty of its former inhabitants. But to return to the prefent ftate of the Ifland. Having briefly recounted the conveniencies of this place, the excellency and quantity of its fruits and provifions, the neatnefs of its lawns, the ftatelinefs, frefhnefs and fragance of its woods, the happy inequality of its furface, and the variety and elegance of the views it afforded ; I muff now obferve that all thefe advantages were greatly enhanced by the healthinefs of its climate, by the al- moft conftant breezes which prevail there, and by the frequent fhowers which fell there ; for thefe inffead of the heavy continued rains which in fome countries render great part of the year fo un- pleaflng, were ufually of a very fhort and almoft momentary du- ration. Hence they were extremely grateful and refrefhing, and were perhaps one caufe of the falubrity of the air, and of the ex- traordinary influence it was obferved to have upon us, in increafing and invigorating our appetites and digeftion. This effect was indeed remarkable, fince thofe amongft our officers, who were at all other times fpare and temperate eaters, who, befldes a flight breakfaft, ufed to make but one moderate repaft a day, were here, in appear- ance, transformed into gluttons ; for inffead of one reafonable flefh- meal, they were now fcarcely fatisfied with three, each of them too fo prodigious in quantity, as would at another time have pro- duced a fever or a furfeit. And yet our digeftion fo well correfpond- ed to the keenefs of our appetites, that we were neither difordered nor even loaded by this uncommon repletion ; for after having, ac- cording to the cuftom of the Ifland, made a large beef breakfaft, it was not long before we began to confider the approach of dinner as a very defirable, though fomewhat tardy incident. After giving thefe large encomiums to this Ifland, in which however, I conceive, I have not done it juftice ; it is neceffary I ftiould fpeak of thofe circumftances in which it is defective, whe- ther in point of beauty or utility. And firft, with refpe