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Befides the care we had taken to prevent the galeon from pafling
by us unobferved, we had not been inattentive to the means'of engaging
her to advantage when we came up with her : For . confi-
deting the thinnefs- of our crews, and the vaunting accounts given
by the Spaniards of her fize, her guns, and h‘er ftrength, this, was
a confideration not to be negledted.' As’we fuppofed that none o f
our fhips but the Centuritito and the Gloucejier were capable of lying
along fide of her, we took on board the Centurion all the hands
belonging to the Carmelo and the Carmin, except what were juft-
fufficient to navigate > thofe fhips j j and Captain Saunders was ordered
to fend from the ‘Tryal’s prize ten Englijhmen, and'as.many
Negroes, to reinforce the crew of the Gloucejier. At the fame
time, for the encouragement o f our Negroes, of which we had a
confiderable number on board, we promifed them, that on their
good behaviour they lhould all have their freedom. As .they had
been almoft every-day trained to the management o f the great guns
for the two preceding months, they were very well qualified to be
of fervice to us; and from their hopes o f liberty, and in return 'for.
the kind ufage they had met with amongft us, they feemed dif-
pofed to exert themfelves to the utmoft of their power, ..whenever
we lhould have occafion for them.
Being thus prepared for the reception o f thegaleon, we expedied,,
with the utmoft impatience, the often, mentioned 3d of March,
the day fixed for her departure. No fooner did that day dawn than
we were all of us moil eagerly engaged in looking out towards
Acapulco, from whence neither ■ the cafual duties On-board,nor
the calls o f hunger could eafily divert our eyes 5 and we were
fo ftrangely prepoffeffed with the certainty of our intelligence,
and with an affurance o f her coming out of port, that fome or
other amongft us were conftantly imagining that they difcovered
one of our Cutters returning with a ftgna-1. But to our extreme
vexation, both this day and the fucceeding night palfed over,
without any news of thegaleon: However, we did not-yet de-
fpair, but were all heartily difpofed to flatter themfelves, that fome
unforefeen
unforefeen accident had intervened, which might have put off her
departure for a few days; and fuggeftions of this kind occurred in
plenty, as.we knew that the time fixed by the Viceroy .for her
failing, was often prolonged on the petition of the Merchants of
Menico. Thus, we kept up our hopes, and did not abate of our
vigilance; and as the 7th of March was Sunday,_ the beginning of
Paflion-week, which is obferved by the Papifts. with great ftraftnefs, ■
and a total ceffation from all kinds of labour, fo that no (hip is
permitted to ftir out of port, during the whole week, this quieted
our apprehenfions for fome time, and difpofed us not to expeft the
galeon till the week .following. On the Friday, in this week our
Cutters returned to us, and the officers on board them were very,
confident that the galeon was ftill in port; for that fhe could not
poffibly have come out, but they mull have feen her. The Monday
morning following, that is, on the 15th of March, the Cutters
were again difpatched to their old ftation, and our hopes were
once more indulged in as fanguine prepoffeffiops as before;!but m
a week’s time our eagernefs was greatly abated, and a general de-
iedtion and defpondency took place in its room. It is true, there
were fome few amongft us who ftill kept up their fpirits, and were
very ingenious in finding out reafons to fatisfy themfelves, that the
difappointment we had hitherto met with had only been occafioned
by a cafual delay of the galeon, which a few days would remove,
and not by a total fufpenfion of her departure.for the whole feafon :
But thefe fpecdlations were not adopted by the generality of, our
people; for they were-perfuaded that the enemy had, by fome ac-
' cident, difcovered our being upon the coaft, and had. therefore laid
an embargo on the galeon till the next year. And indeed this per-
fuafion was but too well founded.; for we afterwards learnt, that
our barge, when fent on the difcovery of the port of Acapulco, had
been feen from the fhore ; and that this circumftance (no embarkations
but canoes ever frequenting that coaft) was to them a Yuf-
ficient proof of the neighbourhood of our fquadron ; on which,
they flopped the galeon till the fucceeding year.. ^