CHAPTER XII
DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOUR OF CHEQUETAN, AND OF THE
ADJACENT COAST AND COUNTRY
The harbour of Chequetan, which we here propose to describe, lies in the latitude of 17° 36' north, and is about thirty leagues to the westward of Acapulco. It is easy to be discovered by any ship that will keep well in with the land, especially by such as range down the coast from Acapulco, and will attend to the following particulars.
There is a beach of sand, which extends eighteen leagues from the harbour of Acapulco to the westward, against which the sea breaks so violently that with our boats it would be impossible to land on any part of it, but yet the ground is so clean that during the fair season ships may anchor in great safety at the distance of a mile or two from the shore. 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 some small eminencies there are several lookout towers, so that the face of the country affords a very agreeable prospect: for the cultivated part, which is the part here described, extends some leagues back from the shore, where it seems to be bounded by a chain of mountains which stretch to a considerable distance on either side of Acapulco. It is a most remarkable particularity that in this whole extent, containing in appearance the most populous and best planted district of the whole coast, there should be neither canoes, boats, nor any other embarkations, either for fishing, coasting, or for pleasure. This cannot be imputed to the difficulty of landing, because in many parts of Africa and Asia, where the same inconvenience occurs, the inhabitants have provided against it by vessels of a peculiar fabric. I therefore conceive that the government, to prevent smuggling, have prohibited the use of all kinds of small craft in that district.
The beach here described is the surest guide to those who are desirous of finding the harbour of Chequetan, for five miles to the westward of the extremity of this beach there appears a hummock, which at first makes like an island, and is in shape not very unlike the hill of Petaplan, hereafter mentioned, though much smaller. Three miles to the westward of this hummock is a white rock near the shore which cannot easily be passed by unobserved. It is about two cables'-length from the land, and lies in a large bay, about nine leagues over. The west point of this bay is the hill of Petaplan, with the view of the islands of Quicara and Quibo. This hill of Petaplan, like the forementioned hummock, may be at first mistaken for an island, though it be in reality a peninsula, which is joined to the continent by a low and narrow isthmus, covered over with shrubs and small trees. The bay of Seguataneio extends from this hill a great way to the westward, and it appears by a plan of the bay of Petaplan, which is part of that of Seguataneio, that at a small distance from the hill, and opposite to the entrance of the bay, there is an assemblage of rocks which are white from the excrements of boobies and tropical birds. Four of these rocks are high and large, and together with several smaller ones, are, by the help of a little imagination, pretended to resemble the form of a cross, and are called the White Friars. These rocks, as appears by the plan, bear W. by N. from Petaplan, and about seven miles to the westward of them lies the harbour of Chequetan, which is still more minutely distinguished by a large and single rock that rises out of the water a mile and an half distant from the entrance, and bears S.½W. from the middle of it. To these directions I must add that the coast is no ways to be dreaded between the middle of October and the beginning 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 compass.
Such are the infallible marks by which the harbour of Chequetan may be known to those who keep well in with the land. But as to those who keep at any considerable distance from the coast, there is no other method to be taken for finding the place than that of making it by the latitude, for there are so many ranges of mountains rising one upon the back of another within land, that no drawings of the appearance of the coast can be at all depended on when off at sea, every little change of distance or variation of position bringing new mountains in view, and producing an infinity of different prospects, which render all attempts of delineating the aspect of the coast impossible.
Having discussed the methods of discovering the harbour of Chequetan, it is time to describe the harbour itself. Its entrance is but about half a mile broad; the two points which form it, and which are faced with rocks that are almost perpendicular, bear from each other S.E. and N.W. The harbour is invironed on all sides, except to the westward, with high mountains overspread with trees. The passage into it is very safe on either side of the rock that lies off the mouth of it, though we, both in coming in and going out, left it to the eastward. The ground without the harbour is gravel mixed with stones, but within it is a soft mud: and it must be remembered that in coming to an anchor a good allowance should be made for a large swell, which frequently causes a great send of the sea, as likewise for the ebbing and flowing of the tide, which we observed to be about five feet, and that it set nearly E. and W.
The watering-place is situated in that part of the harbour where there is fresh water. This, during the whole time of our stay, had the appearance of a large standing lake, without any visible outlet into the sea, from which it is separated by a part of the strand. The origin of this lake is a spring that bubbles out of the ground near half a mile within the country. We found the water a little brackish, but more considerably so towards the seaside; for the nearer we advanced towards the spring-head the softer and fresher it proved. This laid us under a necessity of filling all our casks from the furthest part of the lake, and occasioned us some trouble; and would have proved still more difficult had it not been for our particular management, which, on account of the conveniency of it, deserves to be recommended to all who shall hereafter water at this place. Our method consisted in making use of canoes which drew but little water; for, loading them with a number of small casks, they easily got up the lake to the spring-head, and the small casks being there filled, were in the same manner transported back again to the beach, where some of our hands always attended to start them into other casks of a larger size.
Though this lake, during our continuance there, appeared to have no outlet into the sea, yet there is reason to suppose that in the rainy season it overflows the strand, and communicates with the ocean; for Dampier, who was formerly here, speaks of it as a large river. Indeed it is necessary that a vast body of water should be amassed before the lake can rise high enough to overflow the strand, since the neighbouring lands are so low that great part of them must be covered with water before it can run out over the beach.
As the country hereabouts, particularly the tract of coast contiguous to Acapulco, appeared to be well peopled and cultivated, we hoped to have easily procured from thence some fresh provisions and other refreshments which we now stood greatly in need of. To facilitate these 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 discover some town or village, where they were to attempt to set on foot a correspondence with the inhabitants; for when we had once begun this intercourse, we doubted not but that, by proper presents, we should allure them to bring down to us whatever fruits or fresh provisions were in their power, as our prizes abounded in various kinds of coarse merchandize, which were of little consequence to us, though to them they would be extremely valuable. Our people were directed on this occasion to proceed with the greatest circumspection, and to make as little ostentation of hostility as possible; for we were sensible we could find no wealth in these parts worth our notice, and what necessaries we really wanted, we expected would be better and more abundantly supplied 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 unusual exercise, and some of them so far spent that they had fainted on the road, and were obliged to be brought back upon the shoulders of their companions. They had penetrated, as they conceived, about ten miles into the country, along a beaten track, where they often saw the fresh dung of horses 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 east and the other to the west. On deliberation concerning the course they should take, it was agreed to continue their march along the eastern road: this when they had followed it for some time led them at once into a large plain or savannah, on one side of which they discovered a centinel on horseback with a pistol in his hand. It was supposed that when they first saw him he was asleep; but his horse, startled at the glittering of their arms, and turning round suddenly, ran off with his master, who, though he was very near being unhorsed in the surprize, yet recovered his seat, and escaped with the loss only of his hat and his pistol, which he dropped on the ground. Our people pursued him in hopes of discovering the village or habitation which he would retreat to; but as he had the advantage of being on horseback, they soon lost sight of him. Notwithstanding his escape, they were unwilling to come back without making some discovery, and therefore still followed the track they were in, till the heat of the day increasing, and finding no water to quench their thirst, they were first obliged to halt, and then resolved to return; for as they saw no signs of plantations or cultivated land, they had no reason to believe that there was any village or settlement near them. However, to leave no means untried of procuring some intercourse with the people, the officers stuck up several poles in the road, to which were affixed declarations written in Spanish, encouraging the inhabitants to come down to the harbour to traffic with us, giving them the strongest assurances of a kind reception, and faithful payment for any provisions they should bring us. This was doubtless a very prudent measure, yet it produced no effect; for we never saw any of them during the whole time of our continuance at this port of Chequetan. Indeed it were to have been wished that our men, upon the division of the path, had taken the western road instead of the eastern; for then they would soon have been led to a village or town, which some Spanish manuscripts mention as being in the neighbourhood of this port, and which we afterwards learnt was not above two miles from that turning.
And on this occasion I cannot avoid mentioning another adventure which happened to some of our people in the bay of Petaplan, as it may greatly assist the reader in forming a just idea of the temper and resolution of the inhabitants of this part of the world. Some time after our arrival at Chequetan, Lieutenant Brett was sent by the commodore, with two of our boats under his command, to examine the coast to the eastward, particularly to make observations on the bay and watering-place of Petaplan. As Mr. Brett with one of the boats was preparing to go on shore towards the hill of Petaplan, he accidentally looking across the bay, perceived on the opposite strand three small squadrons of horse parading upon the beach, and seeming to advance towards the place where he proposed to land. On sight of this he immediately put off the boat, though he had but sixteen men with him, and stood over the bay towards them: and he soon came near enough to perceive that they were mounted on very sightly horses, and were armed with carbines and lances. On seeing him make towards them, they formed upon the beach, and seemed resolved to dispute his landing, firing several distant shot at him as he drew near, till at last the boat being arrived within a reasonable distance of the most advanced squadron, Mr. Brett ordered his people to fire, upon which this resolute cavalry instantly ran with great confusion into the wood through a small opening. In this precipitate flight one of their horses fell down and threw his rider; but whether he was wounded or not we could not discern, for both man and horse soon got up again, and followed the rest into the wood. In the meantime the other two squadrons were calm spectators of the rout of their comrades, for they were drawn up at a great distance behind, out of the reach of our shot, having halted on our first approach, and never advancing a step afterwards. It was doubtless fortunate for our people that the enemy acted with so little prudence, and exerted so little spirit, since had they concealed themselves till our men had landed, it is scarcely possible but all the boat's crew must have fallen into their hands, as the Spaniards were not much short of two hundred, and the whole number with Mr. Brett only amounted to sixteen. However, the discovery of so considerable a force collected in this bay of Petaplan obliged us constantly to keep a boat or two before it: for we were apprehensive that the cutter, which we had left to cruise off Acapulco, might on her return be surprized by the enemy, if she did not receive timely information of her danger. But now to proceed with the account of the harbour of Chequetan.
After our unsuccessful attempt to engage the people of the country to furnish us with the necessaries we wanted, we desisted from any more endeavours of the same nature, and were obliged to be contented with what we could procure for ourselves in the neighbourhood of the port. We caught fish here in tolerable quantities, especially when the smoothness of the water permitted us to hale the seyne. Amongst the rest, we got cavallies, breams, mullets, soles, fiddle-fish, sea-eggs, and lobsters: and we here, and in no other place, met with that extraordinary fish called the torpedo, or numbing-fish, which is in shape very like the fiddle-fish, and is not to be known from it but by a brown circular spot about the bigness of a crown piece near the centre of its back. Perhaps its figure will be better understood when I say it is a flat fish much resembling the thorn-back. This fish, the torpedo, is indeed of a most singular nature, productive of the strangest effects on the human body: for whoever handles it, or happens even to set his foot upon it, is presently seized with a numbness all over him, but which is more distinguishable in that limb which was in immediate contact with it. The same effect too will be in some degree produced by touching the fish with anything held in the hand, since I myself had a considerable degree of numbness conveyed to my right arm, through a walking cane, which I rested on the body of the fish for a short time only; and I make no doubt but I should have been much more sensibly affected had not the fish been near expiring when I made the experiment, as it is observable that this influence acts with most vigour upon the fish's being first taken out of the water, and entirely ceases as soon as it is dead, so that it may be then handled, or even eaten, without any inconvenience. I shall only add, that the numbness of my arm upon this occasion did not go off on a sudden, as the accounts of some naturalists gave me reason to expect, but diminished gradually, so that I had some sensation of it remaining till the next day.
To the account given of the fish we met with here I must add, that though turtle now grew scarce, and we found none in this harbour of Chequetan, yet our boats, which were stationed off Petaplan, often supplied us therewith; and though this was a food that we had been long as it were confined to (since it was the only fresh provisions which we had tasted during near six months), yet we were far from being cloyed with it, or from finding that the relish we had for it at all diminished.
The animals we met with on shore were principally guanos, with which the country abounds, and which are by some reckoned delicious food. We saw no beast of prey here, except we should esteem that amphibious animal, the alligator, as such, several of which our people discovered, but none of them very large. However, we were satisfied that there were great numbers of tygers in the woods, though none of them came in sight, for we every morning found the beach near the watering-place imprinted very thick with their footsteps: but we never apprehended any mischief from them, since they are by no means so fierce as the Asiatic or African tyger, and are rarely, if ever, known to attack mankind. Birds were here in sufficient plenty; for we had abundance of pheasants of different kinds, some of them of an uncommon size, but they were all very dry and tasteless eating. And besides these we had a variety of smaller birds, particularly parrots, which we often killed for food.
The fruits and vegetable refreshments at this place were neither plentiful nor of the best kinds. There were, it is true, a few bushes scattered about the woods, which supplied us with limes, but we scarcely could procure enough for our present use: and these, with a small plum of an agreeable acid, called in Jamaica the hog-plum, together with another fruit called a papah, were the only fruits to be found in the woods. Nor is there any other useful vegetable here worth mentioning, except brook lime. This indeed grew in great quantities near the fresh-water banks; and as it was esteemed an antiscorbutic, we fed upon it frequently, though its extreme bitterness made it very unpalatable.
These are the articles most worthy of notice in this harbour of Chequetan. I shall only mention a particular of the coast lying to the westward of it, that to the eastward having been already described. As Mr. Anson was always attentive to whatever might be of consequence to those who might frequent these seas hereafter, and as we had observed that there was a double land to the westward of Chequetan, which stretched out to a considerable distance, with a kind of opening that appeared not unlike the inlet to some harbour, the commodore, soon after we came to an anchor, sent a boat to discover it more accurately, and it was found on a nearer examination that the two hills which formed the double land were joined together by a valley, and that there was no harbour nor shelter between them.
By all that hath been said it will appear that the conveniences of this port of Chequetan, particularly in the articles of refreshment, are not altogether such as might be desired: but yet, upon the whole, it must be owned to be a place of considerable consequence, and that the knowledge of it may be of great import to future cruisers, for except Acapulco, which is in the hands of the enemy, it is the only secure harbour in a vast extent of coast. It lies at a proper distance from Acapulco for the convenience of such ships as may have any designs on the Manila galeon; and it is a place where wood and water may be procured with great security in despight of the efforts of the inhabitants of the adjacent district: for there is but one narrow path which leads through the woods into the country, and this is easily to be secured by a very small party against all the strength the Spaniards in that neighbourhood can muster. After this account of Chequetan, and the coast contiguous to it, we now return to the recital of our own proceedings.
CHAPTER XIII
OUR PROCEEDINGS AT CHEQUETAN AND ON THE ADJACENT
COAST, TILL OUR SETTING SAIL FOR ASIA
The next morning after our coming to an anchor in the harbour of Chequetan, we sent about ninety of our men well armed on shore; forty of whom were ordered to march into the country, as hath been mentioned, and the remaining fifty were employed to cover the watering-place, and to prevent any interruption from the natives.
Here we compleated the unloading of the Carmelo and Carmin, which we had begun at sea; that is to say, we took out of them the indico, cacao, and cochineal, with some iron for ballast, which were all the goods we intended to preserve, though they did not amount to a tenth of their cargoes. Here too it was agreed, after a mature consultation, to destroy the Tryal's prize, as well as the Carmelo and Carmin, whose fate had been before resolved on. Indeed the Tryal's prize was in good repair, and fit for the sea; but as the whole numbers on board our squadron did not amount to the complement of a fourth-rate man-of-war, we found it was impossible to divide them into three ships without rendering each of those ships incapable of navigating in safety through the tempestuous weather we had reason to expect on the coast of China, where we supposed we should arrive about the time of the change of the monsoons. These considerations determined the commodore to destroy the Tryal's prize, and to reinforce the Gloucester with the best part of the crew. And in consequence of this resolve, all the stores on board the Tryal's prize were removed into the other ships, and the prize herself, with the Carmelo and Carmin, were prepared for scuttling with all the expedition we were masters of; but the great difficulties we were under in providing a store of water (which have been already touched on), together with the necessary repairs of our rigging and other unavoidable occupations, took us up so much time, and found us such unexpected employment, that it was near the end of April before we were in a condition to leave the place.
During our stay here there happened an incident which, as it proved the means of convincing our friends in England of our safety, which for some time they had despaired of, and were then in doubt about, I shall beg leave particularly to recite. I have observed, in the preceding chapter, that from this harbour of Chequetan there was but one pathway which led through the woods into the country. This we found much beaten, and were thence convinced that it was well known to the inhabitants. As it passed by the spring-head, and was the only avenue by which the Spaniards could approach us, we, at some distance beyond the spring-head, felled several large trees, and laid them one upon the other across the path; and at this barricadoe we constantly kept a guard. We besides ordered our men employed in watering to have their arms ready, and, in case of any alarm, to march instantly to this post. And though our principal intention herein was to prevent our being disturbed by any sudden attack of the enemy's horse, yet it answered another purpose which was not in itself less important: this was to hinder our own people from straggling singly into the country, where we had reason to believe they would be surprized by the Spaniards, who would doubtless be extremely solicitous to pick up some of them in hopes of getting intelligence of our future designs. To avoid this inconvenience, the strictest orders were given to the centinels to let no person whatever pass beyond their post. But notwithstanding this precaution, we missed one Lewis Leger, who was the commodore's cook. As he was a Frenchman, and was suspected to be a Papist, it was at first imagined that he had deserted, with a view of betraying all that he knew to the enemy; though this appeared, by the event, to be an ill-grounded surmise, for it was afterwards known that he had been taken by some Indians, who carried him prisoner to Acapulco, from whence he was transferred to Mexico, and then to Vera Cruz, where he was shipped on board a vessel bound to Old Spain. But the vessel being obliged by some accident to put into Lisbon, Leger escaped on shore, and was by the British consul sent from thence to England, where he brought the first authentick account of the safety of the commodore, and of his principal transactions in the South Seas. The relation he gave of his own seizure was that he rambled into the woods at some distance from the barricadoe, where he had first attempted to pass, but had been stopped and threatened to be punished; that his principal view was to get a quantity of limes for his master's store, and that in this occupation he was surprized unawares by four Indians, who stripped him naked, and carried him in that condition to Acapulco, exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, which at that time of the year shone with its greatest violence; that afterwards at Mexico his treatment in prison was sufficiently severe; so that the whole course of his captivity was a continued instance of the hatred which the Spaniards bear to all those who endeavour to disturb them in the peaceable possession of the coasts of the South Seas. Indeed Leger's fortune was, upon the whole, extremely singular, as, after the hazards he had run in the commodore's squadron, and the severities he had suffered in his long confinement amongst the enemy, a more fatal disaster attended him on his return to England: for though, when he arrived in London, some of Mr. Anson's friends interested themselves in relieving him from the poverty to which his captivity had reduced him, yet he did not long enjoy the benefit of their humanity, since he was killed in an insignificant night-brawl, the cause of which could scarcely be discovered.
And on occasion of this surprizal of Leger, I must observe, that though the enemy never appeared in sight during our stay in the harbour, yet we perceived that large parties of them were encamped in the woods about us; for we could see their smokes, and could thence determine that they were posted in a circular line surrounding us at a distance; and just before our coming away they seemed, by the increase of their fires, to have received a considerable reinforcement. But to return.
Towards the latter end of April, the unloading of our three prizes, our wooding and watering, and in short, every one of our proposed employments at the harbour of Chequetan, were compleated: so that, on the 27th of April, the Tryal's prize, the Carmelo, and the Carmin, all which we here intended to destroy, were towed on shore and scuttled, a quantity of combustible materials having been distributed in their upper works: and the next morning the Centurion with the Gloucester weighed anchor, though as there was but little wind, and that not in their favour, they were obliged to warp out of the harbour. When they had reached the offing, one of the boats was dispatched back again to set fire to our prizes, which was accordingly executed. After this a canoe was left fixed to a grapnel in the middle of the harbour, with a bottle in it well corked, inclosing a letter to Mr. Hughes, who commanded the cutter, which had been ordered to cruise before the port of Acapulco when we ourselves quitted that station. And on this occasion I must mention more particularly than I have yet done the views of the commodore in leaving the cutter before that port.
When we were necessitated to proceed for Chequetan to recruit our water, Mr. Anson considered that our arrival in that harbour would soon be known at Acapulco; and therefore he hoped that on the intelligence of our being employed in port, the galeon might put to sea, especially as Chequetan is so very remote from the course generally steered by the galeon. He therefore ordered the cutter to cruise twenty-four days off the port of Acapulco, and her commander was directed, on perceiving the galeon under sail, to make the best of his way to the commodore at Chequetan. As the Centurion was doubtless a much better sailor than the galeon, Mr. Anson, in this case, resolved to have got to sea as soon as possible, and to have pursued the galeon across the Pacifick Ocean: where supposing he should not have met with her in his passage (which, considering that he would have kept nearly the same parallel, was very improbable), yet he was certain of arriving off Cape Espiritu Santo, on the island of Samal, before her; and that being the first land she makes on her return to the Philippines, we could not have failed to have fallen in with her by cruising a few days in that station. However, the Viceroy of Mexico ruined this project by keeping the galeon in the port of Acapulco all that year.
The letter left in the canoe for Mr. Hughes, the commander of the cutter, the time of whose return was now considerably elapsed, directed him to go back immediately to his former station before Acapulco, where he would find Mr. Anson, who resolved to cruise for him there a certain number of days; after which it was added that the commodore would return to the southward to join the rest of the squadron. This last article was inserted to deceive the Spaniards, if they got possession of the canoe, as we afterwards learnt they did; but could not impose on Mr. Hughes, who well knew that the commodore had no squadron to join, nor any intention of steering back to Peru.
Being now in the offing of Chequetan, bound across the vast Pacifick Ocean in our way to China, we were impatient to run off the coast as soon as possible, since the stormy season was approaching apace. As we had no farther views in the American seas, we had hoped that nothing would have prevented us from steering to the westward the moment we got out of the harbour of Chequetan: and it was no small mortification to us that our necessary employment there had detained us so much longer than we expected, but now, when we had put to sea, we were farther detained by the absence of the cutter, and the necessity we were under of standing towards Acapulco in search of her. Indeed, as the time of her cruise had been expired for near a fortnight, we suspected that she had been discovered from the shore, and that the Governor of Acapulco had thereupon sent out a force to seize her, which, as she carried but six hands, was no very difficult enterprize. However, this being only conjecture, the commodore, as soon as he was got clear of the harbour of Chequetan, stood along the coast to the eastward in search of her: and to prevent her from passing by us in the dark, we brought to every night, and the Gloucester, whose station was a league within us towards the shore, carried a light, which the cutter could not but perceive if she kept along shore, as we supposed she would do; besides, as a farther security, the Centurion and Gloucester alternately shewed two false fires every half-hour. Indeed, had she escaped us, she would have found orders in the canoe to have returned immediately before Acapulco, where Mr. Anson proposed to cruise for her some days.
By Sunday, the 2d of May, we were advanced within three leagues of Acapulco, and having seen nothing of our boat, we gave her over as lost, which, besides the compassionate concern for our ship-mates, and for what it was apprehended they might have suffered, was in itself a misfortune, which, in our present scarcity of hands, we were all greatly interested in: since the crew of the cutter, consisting of six men and the lieutenant, were the very flower of our people, purposely picked out for this service, and known to be every one of them of tried and approved resolution, and as skilful seamen as ever trod a deck. However, as it was the general belief among us that they were taken and carried into Acapulco, the commodore's prudence suggested a project which we hoped would recover them. This was founded on our having many Spanish and Indian prisoners in our possession, and a number of sick negroes, who could be of no service to us in the navigating of the ship. The commodore therefore wrote a letter the same day to the Governor of Acapulco, telling him that he would release them all provided the governor returned the cutter's crew. This letter was dispatched in the afternoon by a Spanish officer, of whose honour we had a good opinion, and who was furnished with a launch belonging to one of our prizes and a crew of six other prisoners, who gave their parole for their return. The Spanish officer too, besides the commodore's letter, carried with him a joint petition, signed by all the rest of the prisoners, beseeching the governor to acquiesce in the terms proposed for their liberty. From a consideration of the number of our prisoners and the quality of some of them, we did not doubt but the governor would readily comply with Mr. Anson's proposal, and therefore we kept plying on and off the whole night, intending to keep well in with the land that we might receive an answer at the limited time, which was the next day, being Monday. But both on Monday and Tuesday we were driven so far off shore that we could not hope that any answer could reach us; and even on the Wednesday morning we found ourselves fourteen leagues from the harbour of Acapulco; however, as the wind was then favourable, we pressed forwards with all our sail, and did not doubt of getting in with the land that afternoon. Whilst we were thus standing in, the centinel called out from the mast-head that he saw a boat under sail at a considerable distance to the south-eastward. This we took for granted was the answer of the governor to the commodore's message, and we instantly edged towards her; but as we approached her we found, to our unspeakable joy, that it was our own cutter. And though, while she was still at a distance, we imagined that she had been discharged out of the port of Acapulco by the governor; yet, when she drew nearer, the wan and meagre countenances of the crew, the length of their beards, and the feeble and hollow tone of their voices, convinced us that they had suffered much greater hardships than could be expected from even the severities of a Spanish prison. They were obliged to be helped into the ship, and were immediately put to bed, where by rest and nourishing diet, which they were plentifully supplied with from the commodore's table, they recovered their health and vigour apace. And now we learnt that they had kept the sea the whole time of their absence, which was above six weeks; that when they had finished their cruise before Acapulco, and had just begun to ply to the westward, in order to join the squadron, a strong adverse current had forced them down the coast to the eastward, in spight of all their efforts to the contrary, that at length, their water being all expended, they were obliged to search the coast farther on to the eastward in quest of some convenient landing-place where they might get a fresh supply; that in this distress they ran upwards of eighty leagues to leeward, and found everywhere so large a surf that there was not the least possibility of their landing; that they passed some days in this dreadful situation without water, having no other means left them to allay their thirst than sucking the blood of the turtle which they caught; that at last, giving up all hopes of succour, the heat of the climate too augmenting their necessities, and rendering their sufferings insupportable, they abandoned themselves to despair, fully persuaded that they should perish by the most terrible of all deaths; but that soon after a most unexpected incident happily relieved them. For there fell so heavy a rain, that on spreading their sails horizontally, and putting bullets in the centers of them to draw them to a point, they caught as much water as filled all their casks; that immediately upon this fortunate supply they stood to the westward in quest of the commodore; and being now luckily favoured by a strong current, they joined us in less than fifty hours from that time, after having been absent in the whole full forty-three days. Those who have an idea of the inconsiderable size of a cutter belonging to a sixty-gun ship (being only an open boat about twenty-two feet in length), and who will reflect on the various casualties that must have attended her during a six weeks' continuance alone, in the open ocean, on so impracticable and dangerous a coast, will readily own that her return to us at last, after all the difficulties which she actually experienced, and the dangers to which she was each hour exposed, may be considered as little short of miraculous.
I cannot finish this article of the cutter without remarking how slender a reliance navigators ought to have on the accounts of the buccaneer writers; for though in this run of hers, eighty leagues to the eastward of Acapulco, she found no place where it was possible that a boat could land; yet those writers have not been ashamed to feign harbours and convenient watering-places within these limits, thereby exposing such as should confide in their relations to the risque of being destroyed by thirst.
I must farther add on this occasion that, when we stood near the port of Acapulco, in order to send our message to the governor, and to receive his answer, Mr. Brett took that opportunity of delineating a view of the entrance of the port and of the neighbouring coast, which, added to the plan of the place formerly mentioned, may be of considerable use hereafter.
Having thus recovered our cutter, the sole object of our coming a second time before Acapulco, the commodore determined not to lose a moment's time more, but to run off the coast with the utmost expedition, both as the stormy season on the coast of Mexico was now approaching apace, and as we were apprehensive of having the westerly monsoon to struggle with when we came upon the coast of China: for this reason we no longer stood towards Acapulco, as at present we wanted no answer from the governor. However, Mr. Anson resolved not to deprive his prisoners of the liberty which he had promised them; and therefore they were all immediately embarked in two launches which belonged to our prizes, those from the Centurion in one launch, and those from the Gloucester in the other. The launches were well equipped with masts, sails, and oars; and lest the wind might prove unfavourable, they had a stock of water and provisions put on board them sufficient for fourteen days. There were discharged thirty-nine persons from on board the Centurion, and eighteen from the Gloucester, the greatest part of them Spaniards, the rest being Indians and sick negroes. Indeed, as our crews were very weak, we kept the Mulattoes and some of the stoutest of our negroes with a few Indians to assist us; but we dismissed every Spanish prisoner whatever. We have since learnt that these two launches arrived safe at Acapulco, where the prisoners could not enough extol the humanity with which they had been treated. It seems the governor, before their arrival, had returned a very obliging answer to our letter, and had at the same time ordered out two boats laden with the choicest refreshments and provisions that were to be procured at Acapulco, which he intended as a present to the commodore: but these boats not having found our ships, were at length obliged to put back again, after having thrown all their provisions overboard in a storm which threatened their destruction.
The sending away our prisoners was our last transaction on the American coast; for no sooner had we parted with them than we and the Gloucester made sail to the S.W., proposing to get a good offing from the land, where we hoped, in a few days, to meet with the regular trade-wind, which the accounts of former navigators had represented as much brisker and steadier in this ocean than in any other part of the world: for it has been esteemed no uncommon passage to run from hence to the eastermost isles of Asia in two months; and we flattered ourselves that we were as capable of making an expeditious voyage as any ships that had ever sailed this course before us; so that we hoped soon to gain the coast of China, for which we were now bound. As we conceived this navigation to be free from all kinds of embarrassment of bad weather, fatigue, or sickness, conformable to the general idea of it given by former travellers, we consequently undertook it with alacrity, especially as it was no contemptible step towards our arrival at our native country, for which many of us by this time began to have great longings. Thus, on the 6th of May, we, for the last time, lost sight of the mountains of Mexico, persuaded that in a few weeks we should arrive at the river of Canton in China, where we expected to meet with many English ships and with numbers of our countrymen; and hoped to enjoy the advantages of an amicable, well-frequented port, inhabited by a polished people and abounding with the conveniences and indulgencies of a civilized life; blessings which now for near twenty months had never been once in our power. But, before we take our final leave of America, there yet remains the consideration of a matter well worthy of attention, the discussion of which shall be referred to the ensuing chapter.
CHAPTER XIV
A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPECTED FROM OUR SQUADRON HAD IT ARRIVED IN THE SOUTH SEAS IN GOOD TIME
After the recital of the transactions of the commodore, and the ships under his command, on the coasts of Peru and Mexico, contained in the preceding narration, it will be no useless digression to examine what the whole squadron might have been capable of atchieving had it arrived on its destined scene of action in so good a plight as it would probably have done had the passage round Cape Horn been attempted at a more seasonable time of the year. This disquisition may be serviceable to those who shall hereafter form projects of the like nature for that part of the world, or who may be entrusted with their execution. And therefore I propose, in this chapter, to consider, as succinctly as I can, the numerous advantages which the public might have received from the operations of the squadron had it set sail from England a few months sooner than it did.
To begin then: I presume it will be granted me that in the summer time we might have got round Cape Horn with an inconsiderable loss, and without any material damage to our ships or rigging. For the Duke and Duchess of Bristol, who between them had above three hundred men, buried no more than two from the coast of Brazil to Juan Fernandez; and out of a hundred and eighty-three hands which were on board the Duke alone, there were only twenty-one sick of the scurvy when they arrived at that island. Whence as men-of-war are much better provided with all conveniences than privateers, we might doubtless have appeared before Baldivia in full strength, and in a condition of entering immediately on action; and therefore, as that place was in a very defenceless state, its cannon incapable of service, and its garrison in great measure unarmed, it was impossible that it could have opposed our force, or that its half-starved inhabitants, most of whom are convicts banished thither from other parts, could have had any other thoughts than that of submitting. This would have been a very important acquisition; since when Baldivia, which is an excellent port, had been once in our possession, we should immediately have been terrible to the whole kingdom of Chili, and should doubtless have awed the most distant parts of the Spanish Empire in America. Indeed it is far from improbable that, by a prudent use of this place, aided by our other advantages, we might have given a violent shock to the authority of Spain on that whole continent, and might have rendered some at least of her provinces independent. This would certainly have turned the whole attention of the Spanish ministry to that part of the world where the danger would have been so pressing, and thence Great Britain and her allies might have been rid of the numerous difficulties which the wealth of the Spanish Indies, operating in conjunction with the Gallick intrigues, have constantly thrown in their way.
But that I may not be thought to over-rate the force of this squadron by ascribing to it a power of overturning the Spanish Government in America, it is necessary to enter into a more particular discussion, and to premise a few observations on the condition of the provinces bordering near the South Seas, and on the disposition of the inhabitants, both Spaniards and Indians, at that time. For hence it will appear that the conjuncture was the most favourable we could have desired, since we shall find that the Creolian subjects were disaffected and their governors at variance, that the country was wretchedly provided with arms and stores, and they had fallen into a total neglect of all military regulations in their garrisons; and that the Indians on their frontier were universally discontented, and seemed to be watching with impatience the favourable moment when they might take a severe revenge for the barbarities they had groaned under during more than two ages: so that every circumstance concurred to facilitate the enterprizes of our squadron. Of all these articles we were amply informed by the letters we took on board our prizes; none of these vessels, as I remember, having had the precaution to throw their papers overboard.
The ill blood amongst the governors was greatly augmented by their apprehensions of our squadron; for every one being willing to have it believed that the bad condition of his government was not the effect of negligence, there were continual demands and remonstrances among them in order to throw the blame upon each other. Thus, for instance, the President of St. Jago in Chili, the President of Panama, and many other governors and military officers were perpetually soliciting the Viceroy of Peru to furnish them with the necessary sums of money for putting their provinces and places in a proper state of defence to oppose our designs: but the customary answer of the viceroy to these representations was that he was unable to comply with their requests, urging the emptiness of the royal chest at Lima, and the difficulties he was under to support the expences of his own government: he in one of his letters (which we intercepted) mentioning his apprehensions that he might soon be necessitated to stop the pay of the troops and even of the garrison of Callao, the key of the whole kingdom of Peru. Indeed he did at times remit to these governors some part of their demands; but as what he sent them was greatly short of their wants, these partial supplies rather tended to the raising jealousies and heart-burnings among them than contributed to the purposes for which they had at first been desired.
Besides these mutual janglings amongst the governors, the whole body of the people were extremely dissatisfied, they being fully persuaded that the affairs of Spain for many years before had been managed by the influence of a particular foreign interest, which was altogether detached from the advantages of the Spanish nation: so that the inhabitants of these distant provinces believed themselves to be sacrificed to an ambition which never considered their convenience or emoluments nor paid any regard to the reputation of their name or the honour of their country. That this was the temper of the Creolian Spaniards at that time might be proved from a hundred instances; but I shall content myself with one which is indeed conclusive: this is the testimony of the French mathematicians sent into America to measure the magnitude of an equatorial degree of latitude. For in the relation of the murther of a surgeon belonging to their company in one of the cities of Peru, and of the popular tumult thence occasioned, written by one of those astronomers, the author confesses that the multitude during the uproar universally joined in imprecations on their bad government, and bestowed the most abusive language upon the French, detesting them, in all probability, more particularly as being of a nation to whose influence in the Spanish counsels the Spaniards imputed all their misfortunes.
And whilst the Creolian Spaniards were thus dissatisfied, it appears by the letters we intercepted that the Indians on almost every frontier were ripe for a revolt, and would have taken up arms upon the slightest encouragement; particularly the Indians in the southern parts of Peru, as likewise the Arraucos, and the rest of the Chilian Indians, the most powerful and terrible to the Spanish name of any on that continent. For it seems in some disputes between the Spaniards and the Indians, which happened a short time before our arrival, the Spaniards had insulted the Indians with an account of the force which they expected from Old Spain under the command of Admiral Pizarro, and had vaunted that he was coming thither to compleat the great work which had been left unfinished by his ancestors. These threats alarmed the Indians, and made them believe that their extirpation was resolved on. For the Pizarros being the first conquerors of that coast, the Peruvian Indians held the name, and all that bore it, in execration; not having forgot the destruction of their monarchy, the massacre of their beloved Inca, Atapalipa, the extinction of their religion, and the slaughter of their ancestors, all perpetrated by the family of the Pizarros. The Chilian Indians too abhorred a chief who was descended of a race which, by its lieutenants, had first attempted to inslave them, and had necessitated the stoutest of their tribes for more than a century to be continually wasting their blood in defence of their independency.
Nor let it be supposed that among barbarous nations the traditions of these distant transactions could not be preserved for so long an interval; since those who have been acquainted with that part of the world agree that the Indians, in their publick feasts and annual solemnities, constantly revive the memory of these tragick incidents; and such as have been present at these spectacles have constantly observed that all the recital and representations of this kind were received with emotions so vehement, and with so enthusiastick a rage, as plainly demonstrated how strongly the memory of their former wrongs was implanted in them, and how acceptable the means of revenge would at all times prove. To this I must add too, that the Spanish governors themselves were so fully informed of the disposition of the Indians at this conjuncture, and were so apprehensive of a general defection among them, that they employed all their industry to reconcile the most dangerous tribes, and to prevent them from immediately taking up arms. Among the rest, the President of Chili in particular made large concessions to the Arraucos and the other Chilian Indians, by which, and by distributing considerable presents to their leading men, he at last got them to consent to a prolongation of the truce between the two nations. But these negociations were not concluded at the time when we might have been in the South Seas; and had they been compleated, yet the hatred of these Indians to the Spaniards was so great that it would have been impossible for their chiefs, how deeply soever corrupted, to have kept them from joining us against their old detested enemy.
Thus then it appears that on our arrival in the South Seas we might have found the whole coast unprovided with troops and destitute even of arms: for we well know, from very particular intelligence, that there were not three hundred fire-arms, of which too the greatest part were matchlocks, in all the province of Chili. Whilst at the same time, the Indians were ripe for a revolt, the Spaniards disposed to mutiny, and the governors enraged with one another, and each prepared to rejoice in the disgrace of his antagonist. At this fortunate crisis we, on the other hand, might have consisted of near two thousand men, the greatest part in health and vigour, all well armed, and united under a chief whose enterprising genius (as we have seen) could not be depressed by a continued series of the most sinister events, and whose equable and prudent turn of temper would have remained unvaried in the midst of the greatest degree of good success; and who besides possessed, in a distinguished manner, the two qualities the most necessary for these uncommon undertakings—I mean that of maintaining his authority and preserving, at the same time, the affections of his people. Our other officers too, of every rank, appear, by the experience the public hath since had of them, to have been equal to any attempt they might have been charged with by their commander: and our men (at all times brave if well conducted) in such a cause, where treasure was the object, and under such leaders, would doubtless have been prepared to rival the most celebrated achievements hitherto performed by British mariners.
It cannot then be contested but that Baldivia must have surrendered on the appearance of our squadron: after which, it may be presumed, that the Arraucos, the Pulches, and Penguinches, inhabiting the banks of the river Imperial, about twenty-five leagues to the northward of this place, would have immediately taken up arms, being disposed thereto, as hath been already related, and encouraged by the arrival of so considerable a force in their neighbourhood. As these Indians can bring into the field near thirty thousand men, the greatest part of them horse, their first step would have been the invading the province of Chili, which they would have found totally unprovided both of ammunition and weapons; and as its inhabitants are a luxurious and effeminate race, they would have been incapable, on such an emergency, of giving any opposition to this rugged enemy: so that it is no strained conjecture to imagine that the Indians would have been soon masters of the whole country. Moreover, the other Indians, on the frontiers of Peru, being equally disposed with the Arraucos to shake off the Spanish yoke, it is highly probable that they likewise would have embraced this favourable occasion, and that a general insurrection would have taken place through all the Spanish territories of South America; in which case, the only resource left to the Creolians (dissatisfied as they were with the Spanish government) would have been to have made the best terms they could with their Indian neighbours, and to have withdrawn themselves from the obedience of a master who had shown so little regard to their security. This last supposition may perhaps appear chimerical to those who measure the possibility of all events by the scanty standard of their own experience; but the temper of the times, and the strong dislike of the natives to the measures then pursued by the Spanish court, sufficiently evince at least its possibility. However, not to insist on the presumption of a general revolt, it is sufficient for our purpose to conclude that the Arraucos would scarcely have failed of taking arms on our appearance: since this alone would so far have terrified the enemy that they would no longer have employed their thoughts on the means of opposing us, but would have turned all their care to the Indian affairs; as they still remember, with the utmost horror, the sacking of their cities, the rifling of their convents, the captivity of their wives and daughters, and the desolation of their country by these resolute savages in the last war between the two nations. For it must be observed that the Chilian Indians have been frequently successful against the Spaniards, and possess at this time a large tract of country which was formerly full of Spanish towns and villages, whose inhabitants were all either destroyed or carried into captivity by the Arraucos and the other neighbouring Indians, who in a war against the Spaniards never fail to join their forces.
But even, independent of an Indian revolt, there were two places only, on all the coast of the South Sea, which could be supposed capable of resisting our squadron; these were the cities of Panama and Callao: as to the first of these, its fortifications were so decayed, and it was so much in want of powder, that the president himself, 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, especially if we had opened a communication across the isthmus with our fleet on the other side. And with regard to the city and port of Callao, its condition was not much better than that of Panama; since its walls are built upon the plain ground, without either out-work or ditch before them, and consist only of very slender feeble masonry, without any earth behind them; so that a battery of five or six pieces of cannon, raised anywhere within four or five hundred paces of the place, would have had a full view of the whole rampart, and would have opened it in a short time; and the breach hereby formed, as the walls are so extremely thin, could not have been difficult of ascent; for the ruins would have been but little higher than the surface of the ground; and it would have yielded this particular advantage to the assailants, that the bullets, which grazed upon it, would have driven before them such shivers of brick and stone as would have prevented the garrison from forming behind it, supposing that the troops employed in defence of the place should have so far surpassed the usual limits of Creolian bravery as to resolve to stand a general assault. Indeed, such a resolution cannot be imputed to them; for the garrison and people were in general dissatisfied with the viceroy's behaviour, and were never expected to act a vigorous part. On the contrary, the viceroy himself greatly apprehended that the commodore would make him a visit at Lima, the capital of the kingdom of Peru; to prevent which, if possible, he had ordered twelve gallies to be built at Guaiaquil and other places, which were intended to oppose the landing of our boats, and to hinder us from pushing our men on shore. But this was an impracticable project of defence, and proceeded on the supposition that our ships, when we should land our men, would keep at such a distance that these gallies, by drawing little water, would have been out of the reach of our guns; whereas the commodore, before he had made such an attempt, would doubtless have been possessed of several prize ships, which he would not have hesitated to have run on shore for the protection of his boats; and besides, there were many places on that coast, 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 shore; consequently the cannon of the man-of-war would have swept all the coast to above a mile's distance from the water's edge, and would have effectually prevented any force from assembling to oppose the landing and forming of our men. And this landing-place had the additional advantage that it was but two leagues distant from Lima; so that we might have been at that city within four hours after we should have been first discovered from the shore. The place I have in view is about two leagues south of Callao, and just to the northward of the headland called, in Frezier's draught of that coast, Morro Solar. Here there is seventy or eighty fathom of water within two cables' length of the shore; and here the Spaniards themselves were so apprehensive of our attempting to land, that they had projected to build a fort close to the water; but as there was no money in the royal chests, they could not compleat so considerable a work, and therefore they contented themselves with keeping a guard of a hundred horse there, that they might be sure to receive early notice of our appearance on that coast. Indeed some of them (as we were told), conceiving our management at sea to be as pusillanimous as their own, pretended that this was a road where the commodore would never dare to hazard his ships, for fear that in so great a depth of water their anchors could not hold them.
And let it not be imagined that I am proceeding upon groundless and extravagant presumptions, when I conclude that fifteen hundred or a thousand of our people, well conducted, should have been an over-match for any numbers the Spaniards could muster in South America. Since, not to mention the experience we had of them at Paita and Petaplan, it must be remembered that our commodore was extremely solicitous to have all his men trained to the dexterous use of their fire-arms; whereas the Spaniards, in this part of the world, were wretched provided with arms, and were very awkward in the management of the few they had: and though on their repeated representations the court of Spain had ordered several thousand firelocks to be put on board Pizarro's squadron, yet those, it is evident, could not have been in America time enough to have been employed against us. Hence then by our arms, and our readiness in the use of them (not to insist on the timidity and softness of our enemy), we should in some degree have had the same advantages which the Spaniards themselves had on the first discovery of this country against its naked and unarmed inhabitants.
Now let it in the next place be considered what were the events which we had to fear, or what were the circumstances which could have prevented us from giving law to all the coast of South America, and thereby cutting off from Spain the resources which she drew from those immense provinces. By sea there was no force capable of opposing us; for how soon soever we had sailed, Pizarro's squadron could not have sailed sooner than it did, and therefore could not have avoided the fate it met with. As we should have been masters of the ports of Chili, we could thereby have supplied ourselves with the provisions we wanted in the greatest plenty; and from Baldivia to the equinoctial we ran no risque of losing our men by sickness (that being of all climates the most temperate and healthy), nor of having our ships disabled by bad weather. And had we wanted sailors to assist in the navigating of our squadron whilst a considerable proportion of our men were employed on shore, we could not have failed of getting whatever numbers we pleased in the ports we should have taken, and from the prizes which would have fallen into our hands. For I must observe that the Indians, who are the principal mariners in that part of the world, are extremely docile and dexterous; and though they are not fit to struggle with the inclemencies of a cold climate, yet in temperate seas they are most useful and laborious seamen.
Thus then it appears what important revolutions might have been brought about by our squadron had it departed from England as early as it ought to have done: and from hence it is easy to conclude what immense advantages might have thence accrued to the public. For, as on our success it would have been impossible that the kingdom of Spain should have received any treasure from the provinces bordering on the South Seas, or should even have had any communication with them, it is certain that the whole attention of that monarchy would have been immediately employed in endeavouring to regain these inestimable territories, either by force of arms or compact. By the first of these methods it was scarcely possible they could succeed; for it must have been at least a twelvemonth after our arrival before any ships from Spain could have got into the South Seas, and when they had been there, they would have found themselves without resource, since they would probably have been separated, disabled, and sickly, and would then have had no port remaining in their possession where they could either rendezvous or refit. Whilst we might have been supplied across the isthmus with whatever necessaries, stores, or even men we wanted; and might thereby have supported our squadron in as good a plight as when it first set sail from St. Helens. In short, it required but little prudence so to have conducted this business as to have rendered all the efforts of Spain, seconded by the power of France, ineffectual, and to have maintained our conquest in defiance of them both. Whence they must either have resolved to have left Great Britain mistress of the wealth of South America (the principal support of all their destructive projects), or they must have submitted to her terms, and have been contented to receive these provinces back again, as an equivalent for such restrictions to their future ambition as she in her prudence should have dictated to them. Having thus discussed the prodigious weight which the operations of our squadron might have added to the national influence of this kingdom, I shall here end this second book, referring to the next the passage of the shattered remains of our force across the Pacific Ocean, and all their subsequent transactions till the commodore's arrival in England.
BOOK III
CHAPTER I
THE RUN FROM THE COAST OF MEXICO TO THE LADRONES
OR MARIAN ISLANDS
When, on the 6th of May 1642, we left the coast of America, we stood to the S.W. with a view of meeting the N.E. tradewind, which the accounts of former writers taught us to expect at seventy or eighty leagues from the land. We had besides another reason for standing to the southward, which was the getting into the latitude of 13° or 14° north, that being the parallel where the Pacific Ocean is most usually crossed, and consequently where the navigation is esteemed the safest: this last purpose we had soon answered, being in a day or two sufficiently advanced to the south. But though we were at the same time more distant from the shore than we had presumed was necessary for the falling in with the trade-wind, yet in this particular we were most grievously disappointed, the wind still continuing to the westward, or at best variable. As the getting into the N.E. trade was to us a matter of the last consequence, we stood yet more to the southward, and made many experiments to meet with it; but all our efforts were for a long time unsuccessful; so that it was seven weeks from our leaving the coast before we got into the true trade-wind. This was an interval in which we had at first believed we should well-nigh have reached the eastermost parts of Asia; but we were so 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 sufficient mortification; but there were other circumstances attending it which rendered this situation not less terrible, and our apprehensions perhaps still greater, than in any of our past calamities. For our two ships were by this time extremely crazy; and many days had not passed before we discovered a spring in the fore-mast of the Centurion, which rounded about twenty-six inches of its circumference, and which was judged to be at least four inches deep. And no sooner had the carpenters secured this mast with fishing it, than the Gloucester made a signal of distress to inform us that she had a spring in her main-mast, twelve feet below the trussel trees; which appeared so dangerous that she could not carry any sail upon it. Our carpenters on a strict examination of this mast found it excessively rotten and decayed; and it being judged necessary to cut it down as low as it was defective, it was by this means reduced to nothing but a stump, which served only as a step to the top-mast. These accidents augmented our delay, and being added to our other distresses occasioned us great anxiety about our future safety. For though after our departure from Juan Fernandes we had enjoyed a most uninterrupted state of health, till our leaving the coast of Mexico, yet the scurvy now began to make fresh havock amongst our people: and we too well knew the effects of this disease by our former fatal experience to suppose that anything except a speedy passage could secure the greater part of our crew from being destroyed thereby. But as, after being seven weeks at sea, there did not appear any reasons that could persuade us we were nearer the trade-wind than when we set out, there was no ground for us to imagine that our passage would not prove at least three times as long as we at first expected; and consequently we had the melancholy prospect either of dying by the scurvy or of perishing with the ship for want of hands to navigate her. Indeed, several amongst us were willing to believe that in this warm climate, so different from what we felt in passing round Cape Horn, the violence of this disease, and its fatality, might be in some degree mitigated; as it had not been unusual to suppose that its particular virulence during that passage was in a great measure owing to the severity of the weather: but the ravage of the distemper, in our present circumstances, soon convinced us of the falsity of this speculation; as it likewise exploded certain other opinions which usually pass current about the cause and nature of this disease.
For it has been generally presumed that sufficient supplies of water and of fresh provisions are effectual preventives of this malady; but it happened that in the present case we had a considerable stock of fresh provisions on board, being the hogs and fowls which were taken at Paita; we besides almost daily caught great abundance of bonitos, dolphins, and albicores; and the unsettled season, which deprived us of the benefit of the trade-wind, proved extremely rainy; so that we were enabled to fill up our water-casks almost as fast as they were empty; and each man had five pints of water allowed him every day during the passage. But notwithstanding this plenty of water, notwithstanding that the fresh provisions were distributed amongst the sick, and the whole crew often fed upon fish; yet neither were the sick hereby relieved or the progress or malignity of the disease at all abated. Nor was it in these instances only that we found the general maxims upon this head defective: for tho' it has been usually esteemed a necessary piece of management to keep all ships where the crews are large as clean and airy between decks as possible; and it hath been believed by many that this particular alone, if well attended to, would prevent the appearance of the scurvy, or at least mitigate its virulence; yet we observed during the latter part of our run that, though we kept all our ports open and took uncommon pains in cleansing and sweetning the ships, the disease still raged with as much violence as ever; nor did its advancement seem to be thereby sensibly retarded.
However, I would not be understood to assert that fresh provisions, plenty of water, and a constant supply of sweet air between decks are matters of no moment: I am, on the contrary, well satisfied that they are all of them articles of great importance, and are doubtless extremely conducive to the health and vigour of a crew, and may in many cases prevent this fatal malady from taking place. All I have aimed at in what I have advanced is only to evince that, in some instances, both the cure and prevention of this malady is impossible to be effected by any management, or by the application of any remedies which can be made use of at sea. Indeed, I am myself fully persuaded that, when it has got to a certain head, there are no other means in nature for relieving the sick but carrying them on shore, or at least bringing them into the neighbourhood of the land. Perhaps a distinct and adequate knowledge of the source of this disease may never be discovered; but, in general, there is no difficulty in conceiving that, as a continued supply of fresh air is necessary to all animal life, and as this air is so particular a fluid that, without losing its elasticity, or any of its obvious properties, it may be rendered unfit for this purpose by the mixing with it some very subtle and otherwise imperceptible effluvia; it may be easily conceived, I say, that the steams arising from the ocean may have a tendency to render the air they are spread through less properly adapted to the support of the life of terrestrial animals, unless these steams are corrected by effluvia of another kind, which perhaps the land alone can afford.
To what hath been already said in relation to this disease, I shall add that our surgeon (who during our passage round Cape Horn had ascribed the mortality we suffered to the severity of the climate) exerted himself in the present run to the utmost: but he at last declared that all his measures were totally ineffectual, and did not in the least avail his patients. On this it was resolved by the commodore to try the success of two medicines which, just before his departure from England, were the subject of much discourse, I mean the pill and drop of Mr. Ward. For however violent the operations of these medicines are said to have sometimes proved, yet in the present instance, where, without some remedy, destruction seemed inevitable, the experiment at least was thought adviseable: and, therefore, one or both of them at different times were administred to persons in every stage of the distemper. Out of the numbers who took them, one, soon after swallowing the pill, was seized with a violent bleeding at the nose. He was before given over by the surgeon and lay almost at the point of death; but he immediately found himself much better, and continued to recover, tho' slowly, till we arrived on shore, which was near a fortnight after. A few others too were relieved for some days, but the disease returned again with as much virulence as ever. Though neither did these, nor the rest, who received no benefit, appear to be reduced to a worse condition than they would have been if they had taken nothing. The most remarkable property of these medicines, and what was obvious in almost every one that took them, was that they acted in proportion to the vigour of the patient; so that those who were within two or three days of dying were scarcely affected; and as the patient was differently advanced in the disease, the operation was either a gentle perspiration, an easy vomit, or a moderate purge: but if they were taken by one in full strength, they then produced all the forementioned effects with considerable violence, which sometimes continued for six or eight hours together with little intermission. However, let us return to the prosecution of our voyage.
I have already observed that a few days after our running off the coast of Mexico the Gloucester had her main-mast cut down to a stump, and we were obliged to fish our foremast; and that these misfortunes were greatly aggravated by our meeting with contrary and variable winds for near seven weeks. I shall now add that when we reached the trade-wind, and it settled between the north and the east, yet it seldom blew with so much strength that the Centurion might not have carried all her small sails abroad without the least danger; so that, had we been a single ship, we might have run down our longitude apace, and have arrived at the Ladrones soon enough to have recovered great numbers of our men who afterwards perished. But the Gloucester, by the loss of her main-mast, sailed so very heavily that we had seldom any more than our top-sails set, and yet were frequently obliged to lie to for her: and, I conceive, that on the whole we lost little less than a month by our attendance upon her, in consequence of the various mischances she encountered. During all this run it was remarkable that we were rarely many days together without seeing great numbers of birds; which is a proof that there are several islands, or at least rocks, scattered all along, at no very considerable distance from our track: but the frequency of these birds seem to ascertain that there are many more than have been hitherto discovered; for the most part of the birds we observed were such as are known to roost on shore; and the manner of their appearance sufficiently evinced that they came from some distant haunt every morning, and returned thither again in the evening, since we never saw them early or late; and the hour of their arrival and departure gradually varied, which we supposed was occasioned by our running nearer their haunts or getting farther from them.