172 . L O R D A N S O N ’ S V O Y A G E
not a maft left, on which fhe could carry fail. Thefe unhappy incidents
were ftill aggravated by the impoffibility we were juft then
under o f a {lifting her ; for the wind blew fo. hard, and raifed fuch
a hollow fea, that we could not-venture to hoift out our boat, and
confequently could have no communication with her ; fb that we
were obliged to lay-to for the greateft part o f forty-eight hours, to
attend her, as we could have no thought of leaving her to herfelf
in her prefent unhappy fituation. It was no fmall accumulation
to thele m'isfortuues, that we were all the while driving to the
leeward of our Ration, at the very time too, when, by our intelligence,
we had reafon to expert feveral of the enemy’ s Ihips would
appear upon the coaft, who would now gain the port of Valparalfo
without obftruction. And I am verily perfuaded, that the em-
barraffment we received from the difmafting. of the Tryal, and our
abfence from our intended ftation, occafioned thereby, deprived us
o f ibme very confiderable captures.
The weather proving fomewhat more moderate on the 27th, we
fent our boat for the Captain o f the Tryal, who, when he came
on board us, produced an inftrument, figned by himfelf and all
his officers, reprefenting that the Sloop, befides being difmafted,
was fo very leaky in her hull, that, even in moderate weather, it
was neceflary to ply the pumps conftantly, and that they were
then fcarcely fufficient to keep her free ; fo that in the late gale,
though they had all been engaged at the pumps by turns, yet the
water had mcreafed upon them; and, upon the whole, they apprehended
her to be at prefent fo very defe<ftive,'.that, i f they met
with much bad weather, they muft all inevitably perifh ; and therefore
they petitioned the Commodore to take fome meafures for
their future fafety. But the refitting of the Tryal, and the repairing
of her defefts, was an undertaking that, in the prefent con-
jun&ure, greatly exceeded our power; for we had no mafts to fpare.
her, we had no ftores to compleat her rigging, nor had we any
port where fhe might be hove down, and her bottom examined ::
befides, had a port and proper requifites for this purpofe been in
ourpofTefEon, yet it would have been extreme imprudence, in fo
critical
R O U N D T H E W O R L D . 173
critical a conjun&ure, to have loitered away fo much time as
would have been neceffary for thefe operations. The Commodore,
therefore, had no choice left him; but was under a neceffity of
taking out her people, and deftroying her: however, as he conceived
it expedient to keep up the appearance of. Our force, he appointed
the Tryal's prize (which had been often employed by the
Viceroy of Peru as.a man of war) to be a frigate in his Majefty’s
fervice, manning her with the Tryal's crew, and giving commif-
fions to the Captain and all the inferior officers accordingly. This
new frigate, when in the Spanijh fervice, had mounted thirty-two
guns; but fhe was now to have only twenty, which were the
twelve that were on board the Tryal, and eight that had belonged
to the Anna Pink. When this affair was thus refolved on, Mr.
Anfon gave orders to Captain Saunders to put it in execution, dic
i n g him to take out of the floop the arms, ftores, ammunition,
and every thing that could be of any ufe to the other Ihips, and
then to fkuttle. and fink her. After Captain Saunders, had feen
her destroyed, he was to proceed wjth his new frigate (to be called
the Tryafs Prize), and to cruize, off the highland of Vslparaifo,
keeping it from him, N. N. W , at the diftan.ce o f twelve or fourteen
leagues: for. as all Ihips, bound from Valparaifö to the northward,
fteer that courfej Mr. Anfon propofed by this means to flop
any intelligence, that might be difpatched to Callao of two of their
fh-ips being miffing, which might give them apprehenfions of the
Englijh fquadron being in their neighbourhood. The Tryal’s Prize
was to continue on this ftation twenty-four days; and, if not
joined by the Commodore at the expiration of that term, fhe was
then to proceed down the coaft to Pifco, or Nafca, where fhe
would be certain to meet with Mr. Anfon. The Commodore like-
wife' ordered Lieutenant Saumarez, . who commanded thefCehtu-
rion's Prize, to keep company with Captain Saunders, both to
affift him in unloading the Sloop, and alfo, that, by fpreading in
their cruize, there might be.le.fs danger of any of the enemy’ s Ihips
flipping by unobferved. Thefe orders.being difpatched,, the Cen-
' ■ 'turion