160 L O R D A N S O N ’ S V O Y A G E
fmaller crew than ours they had loft the fame number, and had only
eighty-two remaining alive. It might be expedited that on board
the Tryal the (laughter would have been the moil terrible, as her
decks were almoft conftantly knee-deep in water : but it happened
otherwife; for (he efcapedmore favourably than the reft, iince (he
only buried forty-two, and had now thirty-nine remaining alive.
The havock o f this dileafe had fallen ftill feverer on the invalids
and marines than on the failors ; for on board the Centurion, out o f
fifty invalids and feventy-nine marines, there remained only four
invalids, including officers, and eleven marines ; and on board the
Gloucejier every invalid perifhed ; and out o f forty-eight marines,
only two efcaped. From this account it appears,, that the three
fliips 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; fo that the whole o f our remaining crews, which
were now to be diftributed amongft three (hips, amounted to no
more than three hundred and thirty-five men and boys,; a number
greatly infufficient for the manning the Centurion alone, and barely
capable of navigating all the three, with the utmoft exertion of
their ftrength and vigour. This prodigious reduftion o f our men
was ftill the more terrifying, as we were hitherto uncertain o f the
fate of Pizarro'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 fuffered
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 doubt-
lels be united in refrelhing 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; and, however contemptible the
(hips and failors of this part o f the world may have been generally
efteemed, it was fcarcely poffible for any thing, bearing the name
o f a (hip of force, to be feebler or lefs confiderable than ourfelves.
And had there been nothing to be apprehended from the naval
power of the Spaniards in this part o f the world, yet our enT
feebled
R O U N D T H E W O R L D . 161
feebled condition would neverthelefs give us the greateft uneafinefs,
as we were incapable o f attempting any o f their confiderable places;
for the rifquing of twenty men, weak as we then were, was nfqumg
the fafety o f the whole; fo that we conceived we fhould be neeef-
fitated to content ourfelves with what few prizes we could pick up
at fea before we were difcovered; after which, we Ihould, in all
probability, be obliged to depart with precipitation, andefteem ourfelves
fortunate to regain our native country, leaving our enemies
to triumph on the inconfiderable mifchief they had received from
a fquadron, whofe equipment had filled them with fuch dreadful,
apprehenfions. This was a fubjeft on which we had reafon to
imagine the Spanijh oftentation would remarkably exert itfelf;
hough the caufes of our difappointment and their fecunty wete
neither to be fought for in their valour nor our mifcondua.
Such were the defending reflections which at that time arofe,
on the review and comparifoh of our remaining ftrength with our
original numbers: indeed, our fears were far from being ground-
lefs or difproportioned to our feeble and almoft defperate fituation;
for though the final event proved more honourable than we had
foreboded, yet the intermediate calamities’ did likeWife greatly fur-
pafs ourmoft gloomy apprehenfions; and,^could they have teen
predicted to us at this Wand of Juan Fernandes, they would doubt-
lefs have appeared infurmountahle. But to return to our narration.
^ In the beginning of September, as has been already mentioned
our men were tolerably well recovered ; and now, the feafon for
navigation in this climate drawing near, we exerted ourfelves in
getting our ftipsin readinefs for the fea We converted the fore,
maft of the Vidualer into a mam-malt for the tryal Sloop; an ,
m flattering ourfelves with the poffibility of the arrival o f fome
other Ihips of our fquadron, we intended to leave .the > ~ a f t o f
the Viftualer, 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 continued
to approach us, till her^ourfes appeared even w r i t h e