A Voyage Round the World

This important business employed the best part of the day after we came from Paita. And now, at night, having no sight of the Gloucester, the commodore ordered the squadron to bring to, that we might not pass her in the dark. The next morning we again looked out for her, and at ten we saw a sail, to which we gave chace; and at two in the afternoon we came near enough to discover her to be the Gloucester, with a small vessel in tow. About an hour after we were joined by them; and then we learnt that Captain Mitchel, in the whole time of his cruise, had only taken two prizes; one of them being a small snow, whose cargoe consisted chiefly of wine, brandy, and olives in jars, with about £7000 in specie; and the other a large boat or launch, which the Gloucester's barge came up with near the shore. The prisoners on board this last vessel alledged that they were very poor, and that their loading consisted only of cotton, though the circumstances in which the barge surprized them seemed to insinuate that they were more opulent than they pretended to be, for the Gloucester's people found them at dinner upon pigeon-pye, served up in silver dishes. However, the officer who commanded the barge having opened several of the jars on board, to satisfy his curiosity, and finding nothing in them but cotton, he was inclined to believe the account the prisoners gave him: but the cargoe being taken into the Gloucester, and there examined more strictly, they were agreeably surprized to find that the whole was a very extraordinary piece of false package, and that there was concealed among the cotton, in every jar, a considerable quantity of double doubloons and dollars, to the amount on the whole of near £12,000. This treasure was going to Paita, and belonged to the same merchants who were the proprietors of the greatest part of the money we had taken there; so that had this boat escaped the Gloucester, it is probable her cargoe would have fallen into our hands. Besides these two prizes which we have mentioned, the Gloucester's people told us that they had been in sight of two or three other ships of the enemy, which had escaped them; and one of them we had reason to believe, from some of our intelligence, was of immense value.

Being now joined by the Gloucester and her prize, it was resolved that we should stand to the northward, and make the best of our way either to Cape St. Lucas on California, or to Cape Corientes on the coast of Mexico. Indeed the commodore, when at Juan Fernandes, had determined with himself to touch in the neighbourhood of Panama, and to endeavour to get some correspondence overland with the fleet under the command of Admiral Vernon. For when we departed from England, we left a large force at Portsmouth which was intended to be sent to the West Indies, there to be employed in an expedition against some of the Spanish settlements. And Mr. Anson taking it for granted that this enterprize had succeeded, and that Porto Bello perhaps might be then garrisoned by British troops, he hoped that on his arrival at the isthmus he should easily procure an intercourse with our countrymen on the other side, either by the Indians, who were greatly disposed in our favour, or even by the Spaniards themselves, some 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; so that Mr. Anson flattered himself that he might by this means have received a reinforcement of men from the other side, and that by settling a prudent plan of operations with our commanders in the West Indies, he might have taken even Panama itself, which would have given to the British nation the possession of that isthmus, whereby we should have been in effect masters of all the treasures of Peru, and should 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 House of Bourbon.

Such were the projects which the commodore revolved in his thoughts at the island of Juan Fernandes, notwithstanding the feeble condition to which he was then reduced. And indeed, had the success of our force in the West Indies been answerable to the general expectation, it cannot be denied but these views would have been the most prudent that could have been thought of. But in examining the papers which were found on board the Carmelo, the first prize we took, we learnt (though I then omitted to mention it) that our attempt against 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. Anson therefore gave over all hopes of being reinforced across the isthmus, and consequently had no inducement at present to proceed to Panama, as he was incapable of attacking the place; and there was great reason to believe that by this time there was a general embargo on all the coast.

The only feasible measure then which was left us was to steer as soon as possible to the southern parts of California, or to the adjacent coast of Mexico, there to cruise for the Manila galeon, which we knew was now at sea, bound to the port of Acapulco. And we doubted not to get on that station time enough to intercept her; for this ship does not usually arrive at Acapulco till towards the middle of January, and we were now but in the middle of November, and did not conceive that our passage thither would cost us above a month or five weeks; so that we imagined we had near twice as much time as was necessary for our purpose. Indeed there was a business which we foresaw would occasion some delay, but we flattered ourselves that it would be dispatched in four or five days, and therefore could not interrupt our project. This was the recruiting of our water; for the number of prisoners we had entertained on board since our leaving the island of Fernandes had so far exhausted our stock, that it was impossible to think of venturing upon this passage to the coast of Mexico till we had procured a fresh supply, especially as at Paita, where we had some hopes of getting a quantity, we did not find enough for our consumption during our stay there. It was for some time a matter of deliberation where we should take in this necessary article; but by consulting the accounts of former navigators, and examining our prisoners, we at last resolved for the island of Quibo, situated at the mouth of the bay of Panama: nor was it but on good grounds that the commodore conceived this to be the properest place for watering the squadron. Indeed, there was a small island called Cocos, which was less out of our way than Quibo, where some of the buccaneers have pretended they found water: but none of our prisoners knew anything of it, and it was thought too dangerous to risque the safety of the squadron, by exposing ourselves to the hazard of not meeting with water when we came there, on the mere authority of these legendary writers, of whose misrepresentations and falsities we had almost daily experience. Besides, by going to Quibo we were not without hopes that some of the enemies ships bound to or from Panama might fall into our hands, particularly such of them as were put to sea before they had any intelligence of our squadron.

Determined therefore by these reasons for Quibo, we directed our course northward, being eight sail in company, and consequently having the appearance of a very formidable fleet; and on the 19th, at daybreak, we discovered Cape Blanco, bearing S.S.E.½E. seven miles distant. This cape lies in the latitude of 40° 15' south, and is always made by ships bound either to windward or to leeward; so that off this cape is a most excellent station to cruise upon the enemy. By this time we found that our last prize, the Solidad, was far from answering the character given her of a good sailor; and she and the Santa Teresa delaying us considerably, the commodore commanded them both to be cleared of everything that might prove useful to the rest of the ships, and then to be burnt; and having given proper instructions, and a rendezvous to the Gloucester and the other prizes, we proceeded in our course for Quibo, and on the 22d, in the morning, saw the island of Plata, bearing east, distant four leagues. Here one of our prizes was ordered to stand close in with it, both to discover if there were any ships between that island and the continent, and likewise to look out for a stream of fresh water which was reported to be there, and which would have saved us the trouble of going to Quibo; but she returned without having seen any ship, or finding any water. At three in the afternoon Point Manta bore S.E. by E. seven miles distant; and there being a town of the same name in the neighbourhood, Captain Mitchel took this opportunity of sending away several of his prisoners from the Gloucester in the Spanish launch. The boats were now daily employed in distributing provisions on board our prizes to complete their stock for six months: and that the Centurion might be the better prepared to give the Manila ships (one of which we were told was of an immense size) a warm reception, the carpenters were ordered to fix eight stocks in the main and fore-tops, which were properly fitted for the mounting of swivel guns.

On the 25th we had a sight of the island of Gallo, bearing E.S.E.½E. four leagues distant; and from hence we crossed the bay of Panama with a N.W. course, hoping that this would have carried us in a direct line to the island of Quibo. But we afterwards found that we ought to have stood more to the westward, for the winds in a short time began to incline to that quarter, and made it difficult to gain the island. After passing the equinoctial (which we did on the 22d) and leaving the neighbourhood of the Cordilleras, and standing more and more towards the isthmus, where the communication of the atmosphere to the eastward and the westward was no longer interrupted, we found in very few days an extraordinary alteration in the climate. For instead of that uniform temperature where neither the excess of heat or cold was to be complained of, we had now, for several days together, close and sultry weather, resembling what we had before met with on the coast of Brazil, and in other parts between the tropics on the eastern side of America. We had besides frequent calms and heavy rains, which we at first ascribed to the neighbourhood of the line, where this kind of weather is generally found to prevail at all seasons of the year; but observing that it attended us to the latitude of seven degrees north, we were at length induced to believe that the stormy season, or, as the Spaniards call it, the Vandevals, was not yet over; though many writers, particularly Captain Shelvocke, positively assert that this season begins in June, and is ended in November, and our prisoners all affirmed the same thing. But perhaps its end may not be always constant, and it might last this year longer than usual.

On the 27th, Captain Mitchel having finished the clearing of his largest prize, she was scuttled and set on fire; but we still consisted of five ships, and were fortunate enough to find them all good sailors, so that we never occasioned any delay to each other. Being now in a rainy climate, which we had been long disused to, we found it necessary to caulk the decks and sides of the Centurion, to prevent the rain water from running into her.

On the 3d of December we had a view of the island of Quibo, the east end of which then bore from us N.N.W. four leagues distant, and the island of Quicara W.N.W. about the same distance. Here we struck ground with sixty-five fathom of line, the bottom consisting of grey sand with black specks. When we had thus got sight of the land, we found the wind to hang westerly; and therefore, night coming on, we thought it adviseable to stand off till morning, as there are said to be some shoals in the entrance of the channel. At six the next morning Point Mariato bore N.E.½N. three or four leagues distant. In weathering this point all the squadron except the Centurion were very near it; and the Gloucester being the leewardmost ship, was forced to tack and stand to the southward, so that we lost sight of her. At nine, the island of Sebaco bore N.W. by N. four leagues distant; but the wind still proving unfavourable, we were obliged to ply on and off for the succeeding twenty-four hours, and were frequently taken aback. However, at eleven the next morning, the wind happily settled in the S.S.W., and we bore away for the S.S.E. end of the island, and about three in the afternoon entered the Canal Bueno, passing round a shoal which stretches off about two miles from the south point of the island. This Canal Bueno, or Good Channel, is at least six miles in breadth; and as we had the wind large, we kept in a good depth of water, generally from twenty-eight or thirty-three fathom, and came not within a mile and a half distance of the breakers, though, in all probability, if it had been necessary, we might have ventured much nearer without incurring the least danger. At seven in the evening we anchored in thirty-three fathom muddy ground; the south point of the island bearing S.E. by S., a remarkable high part of the island W. by N., and the island Sebaco E. by N. Being thus arrived at this island of Quibo, the account of the place, and of our transactions there, shall be referred to the ensuing chapter.