preceding Chapter, weighed from St | Helens with a contrary wind, the Commodore proposing to tide it down the Channel, as he dreaded less the inconveniences he should thereby have to struggle with than the risk he should run of ruining the enterprise by an uncertain and in all probability a tedious attendance for a fair wind. The squadron allotted to this service consisted of five men-of-war, a sloop-of-war, and two victualling ships. They were the Centurion, of 60 guns, 400 men, George Anson, Esq., commander; the Gloucester, of 50 guns, 300 men, Richard Norris, commander; the Severn, of 50 guns, 300 men, the Honourable Edward Legg, commander; the Pearl, of 40 guns, 250 men, Matthew Mitchel, commander; the Wager, of 28 guns, 160 men, Dandy Kidd, commander; and the Trial sloop, of 8 guns, 100 men, the Honourable John Murray, commander. The two victuallers were pinks, the largest about 400 and the other about 200 tons burthen; these were to attend us till the provisions we had taken on board were so far consumed as to make room for the additional quantity they carried with them, which when we had taken into our ships they were to be discharged. Besides the complement of men borne by the above-mentioned ships as their crews, there were embarked on board the squadron about 470 invalids and marines, under the denomination of land forces, as has been particularly mentioned in the preceding Chapter, which were commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Cracherode. With this squadron, together with the St Albans and the Lark, and the [Turkey] trade under their convoy, Mr Anson, after weighing from St Helens, tided it down the Channel for the first forty-eight hours; and on the 20th, in the morning, we discovered off the Ram Head the Dragon, Winchester, South Sea Castle, and 1 French, "Pinque;" originally applied to sailing ships of small size available for reconnoitring, spying, or sounding purposes. Rye, with a number of merchantmen under their convoy. These we joined about noon the same day, our Commodore having orders to see them (together with the [convoy of the] St Albans and Lark) as far into the sea as their course and ours lay together. When we came in sight of this lastmentioned fleet, Mr Anson first hoisted his broad pennant, and was saluted by all the men-of-war in company. When we had joined this last convoy, we made up eleven men-of-war, about 150 sail of merchantmen, consisting of the Turkey, the Straits, and the American trade. Mr Anson, the same day, made a signal for all the captains of the men-of-war to come on board him, where he delivered them their fighting and sailing instructions; and then, with a fair wind, we all stood towards the south-west; and the next day at noon, being the 21st, we had run forty leagues from the Ram Head; and being now clear of the land, our Commodore, to render our view more extensive, ordered Captain Mitchel, in the Pearl, to make sail two leagues ahead of the fleet every morning, and to repair to his station every evening. Thus we proceeded till the 25th, when the Winchester and the American convoy made the concerted signal for leave to separate, which being answered by the Commodore, they left us, as the St Albans and the Dragon, with the Turkey and Straits convoy, did on the 29th. After which separation, there remained in company only our own squadron and our two victuallers, with which we kept on our course for the Island of Madeira. But the winds were so contrary, that we had the mortification to be forty days in our passage thither from St Helens, though it is known to be often done in ten or twelve. This delay was a most unpleasing circumstance, productive Nearly 200, according to Mr Parcoe Thomas, the mathematical master on board the Centurion, who wrote an account of the voyage, from which many notes in this edition are derived. 1740.] THE ISLAND OF MADEIRA. 333 of much discontent and ill-humour | the Longitude from London of, by our amongst our people, of which those different reckonings, from 18°30' to 19° only can have a tolerable idea who 30' W., though laid down in the charts have had the experience of a like in 17°. It is composed of one consituation. And besides the peevish- tinued hill, of a considerable height, ness and despondency which foul and extending itself from east to west, the contrary winds, and a lingering voy- declivity of which, on the south side, age, never fail to create on all occa- is cultivated and interspersed with sions, we in particular had very sub- vineyards; and in the midst of this stantial reasons to be greatly alarmed slope the merchants have fixed their at this unexpected impediment. For country seats, which help to form an as we had departed from England agreeable prospect. There is but one much later than we ought to have considerable town in the whole island, done, we had placed almost all our it is named Fonchiale [Funchal], and hopes of success in the chance of re- is seated on the south part of the trieving in some measure at sea the island, at the bottom of a large bay. time we had so unhappily wasted at This is the only place of trade, and Spithead and St Helens.' However, indeed the only one where it is posat last, on Monday, October the 25th, sible for a boat to land. Fonchiale, at five in the morning, we, to our towards the sea, is defended by a high great joy, made the land, and in the wall, with a battery of cannon, besides afternoon came to an anchor in Ma- a castle on the Loo, which is a rock deira Road in forty fathoms water-standing in the water at a small disthe Brazen-Head bearing from us E. by S., the Loo NNW., and the Great Church NNE. We had hardly let go our anchor when an English privateer sloop ran under our stern and saluted the Commodore with nine guns, which we returned with five; and the next day, the [English] Consul of the island coming to visit the Commodore, we saluted him with nine guns on his coming on board. This Island of Madeira, where we are now arrived, is famous through all our American settlements for its excellent wines, which seem to be designed by Providence for the refreshment of the inhabitants of the torrid zone. It is situated in a fine climate, in the Latitude of 32° 27′ N.; and in 1 Thomas mentions, that on the 13th of October the first man lost on the voyage died—a common sailor, named Philip Meritt; and that next day, by an order from the Commodore, the ship's company went on short allowance-that is, one-third of the allowance granted by Government was kept back, to make the provisions hold out the longer. Anson was evidently disquieted and stimulated to foresight by the unpromising commencement of his voyage. tance from the shore. Even here the beach is covered with large stones, and a violent surf continually beats upon it: so that the Commodore did not care to venture the ships' longboats to fetch the water off, as there was so much danger of their being lost; and therefore ordered the captains of the squadron to employ Portuguese boats on that service. We continued about a week at this island, watering our ships, and providing the squadron with wine and other refreshments. And, on the 3d of November, Captain Richard Norris having signified by a letter to the Commodore his desire to quit his command on board the Gloucester, in order to return to England for the recovery of his health, the Commodore complied with his request; and thereupon was pleased to appoint Captain Matthew Mitchel to command the Gloucester in his room, and to remove Captain Kidd from the Wager to the Pearl, and Captain Murray from the Trial sloop to the Wager, giving the command of the Trial to Lieutenant Cheap. These promotions being 2 The charts, however, are right; the best most modern maps placing Madeira in 17°. settled, with other changes in the | but conjecture that this fleet was inlieutenancies, the Commodore, on the following day, gave to the captains their orders, appointing St Jago, one of the Cape Verd Islands, to be the first place of rendezvous in case of separation; and directing them, if they did not meet the Centurion there, to make the best of their way to the Island of St Catherine's on the coast of Brazil. The water for the squadron being the same day completed, and each ship supplied with as much wine and other refreshments as they could take in, we weighed anchor in the afternoon, and took our leave of the Island of Madeira. But, before I go on with the narration of our own transactions, I think it necessary to give some account of the proceedings of the enemy, and of the measures they had taken to render all our designs abortive. 1 When Mr Anson visited the Governor of Madeira, he received information from him, that for three or four days in the latter end of October there had appeared, to the westward of that island, seven or eight ships of the line, and a patache, which last was sent every day close in to make the land. The Governor assured the Commodore, upon his honour, that none upon the island had either given them intelligence, or had in any sort communicated with them; but that he believed them to be either French or Spanish, but was rather inclined to think them Spanish. On this intelligence, Mr Anson sent an officer in a clean sloop eight leagues to the westward, to reconnoitre them, and, if possible, to discover what they were. But the officer returned without being able to get a sight of them, so that we still remained in uncertainty. However, we could not 2 tended to put a stop to our expedition; which, had they cruised to the eastward of the island instead of the westward, they could not but have executed with great facility. For as, in that case, they must have certainly fallen in with us, we should have been obliged to throw overboard vast quantities of provision to clear our ships for an engagement; and this alone, without any regard to the event of the action, would have effectually prevented our progress. This was so obvious a measure, that we could not help imagining reasons which might have prevented them from pursuing it. And we therefore supposed, that this French or Spanish squadron was sent out upon advice of our sailing in company with Admiral Balchen and Lord Cathcart's expedition: and thence, from an apprehension of being overmatched, they might not think it advisable to meet with us till we had parted company, which they might judge would not happen before our arrival at this island. These were our speculations at that time; and from hence we had reason to suppose, that we might still fall in with them in our way to the Cape Verd Islands. And afterwards, in the course of our expedition, we were many of us persuaded that this was the Spanish squadron commanded by Don Joseph Pizarro, which was sent out purposely to traverse the views and enterprises of our squadron, to which in strength they were greatly superior. As this Spanish armament then, was so nearly connected with our expedition, and as the catastrophe it underwent, though not effected by our force, was yet a considerable advantage to this nation produced in consequence of our equipment, I have, in the following Chapter, given a summary account of their proceedings, from their first setting out from Spain in the year 1740, till the Asia, the only ship which returned to Europe of the whole squadron, arrived at the Groyne [Corunna] in the beginning of the year 1746. 1740.] THE SPANISH SQUADRON. CHAPTER III. nado, at the mouth of that river, THE squadron fitted out by the Court of Spain to attend our motions, and traverse our projects, we supposed to have been the ships seen off Madeira, as mentioned in the preceding Chap-ceived intelligence, by the treachery ter. And as this force was sent out of the Portuguese Governor of St particularly against our expedition, Catherine's, of Mr Anson's having I cannot but imagine that the follow- arrived at that island on the 21st of ing history of the casualties it met December preceding, and of his prewith, as far as by intercepted letters paring to put to sea again with the and other information the same has utmost expedition. Pizarro, notwithcome to my knowledge, is a very standing his superior force, had his reasons (and as some say his orders essential part of the present work. For by this it will appear we were likewise) for avoiding our squadron the occasion that a considerable part anywhere short of the South Seas. He was, besides, extremely desirous of the naval power of Spain was diverted from the prosecution of the of getting round Cape Horn before ambitious views of that Court in us, as he imagined that step alone Europe; and the men and ships lost would effectually baffle all our deby the enemy in this undertaking signs; and therefore, on hearing that we were in his neighbourhood, and were lost in consequence of the precautions they took to secure them- that we should soon be ready to proselves against our enterprises. This ceed for Cape Horn, he weighed squadron (besides two ships intended anchor with the five large ships (the for the West Indies, which did not patache being disabled and condemnpart company till after they had left ed, and the men taken out of her), Madeira) was composed of the follow- after a stay of seventeen days only, ing men-of-war, commanded by Don and got under sail without his provisions, which arrived at Maldonado Joseph Pizarro: within a day or two after his depar The Asia, of 66 guns, and 700 men this was the Admiral's ship. The Guipuscoa, of 74 guns, and 700 350 men. And a patache of 20 guns. These ships, over and above their complement of sailors and marines, had on board an old Spanish regiment of foot, intended to reinforce the garrisons on the coast of the South Seas. When this fleet had cruised for some days to the leeward of Madeira, as is mentioned in the preceding Chapter, they left that station in the beginning of November, and steered for the River of Plate, where they arrived the 5th of January, O.S.; and coming to an anchor in the Bay of Maldo ture. But notwithstanding the precipitation with which he departed, we put to sea from St Catherine's four days before him; and in some part of our passage to Cape Horn the two squadrons were so near together, that the Pearl, one of our ships, being separated from the rest, fell in with the Spanish Fleet, and mistaking the Asia for the Centurion, had got within gun-shot of Pizarro before she discovered her error, and narrowly escaped being taken. It being the 22d of January when the Spaniards weighed from Maldonado, they could not expect to get into the latitude of Cape Horn before the equinox; and as they had reason to apprehend very tempestuous weather in doubling it at that season, and as the Spanish sailors, being for the most part accustomed to a fairweather country, might be expected to be very averse to so dangerous and fatiguing a navigation, the better to encourage them, some part of their pay was advanced to them in European goods, which they were to be permitted to dispose of in the South Seas; that so the hopes of the great profit each man was to make on his small venture might animate him in his duty, and render him less disposed to repine at the labour, the hardships, and the perils he would in all probability meet with before his arrival on the coast of Peru. Pizarro with his squadron having, towards the latter end of February, run the length of Cape Horn, he then stood to the westward in order to double it; but in the night of the last day of February, O.S., while with this view they were turned to windward, the Guipuscoa, the Hermiona, and the Esperanza were separated from the Admiral. On the 6th of March following, the Guipuscoa was separated from the other two; and on the 7th (being the day after we had passed Straits le Maire) there came on a most furious storm at NW., which, in despite of all their efforts, drove the whole squadron to the eastward, and obliged them, after several fruitless attempts, to bear away for the River of Plate, where Pizarro in the Asia arrived about the middle of May, and a few days after him the Esperanza and the St Estevan. The Hermiona was supposed to founder at sea, for she was never heard of more; and the Guipuscoa was run ashore and sunk on the coast of Brazil. The calamities of all kinds which this squadron underwent in this unsuccessful navigation can only be paralleled by what we ourselves experienced in the same climate when buffeted by the same storms. There was indeed some diversity in our distresses, which rendered it difficult to decide whose situation was most worthy of commiseration. For to all the misfortunes we had in common with each other, as shattered rigging, leaky ships, and the fatigues and despondency which necessarily attend these disasters, there was superadded on board our squadron the ravage of a most destructive and incurable disease, and on board the Spanish squadron the devastation of famine. For this squadron, either from the hurry of their outset,1 their presumption of a supply at Buenos Ayres, or from other less obvious motives, departed from Spain, as has been already observed, with no more than four months' provision, and even that, as it is said, at short_allowance only; so that, when by the storms they met with off Cape Horn their continuance at sea was prolonged a month or more beyond their expectation, they were thereby reduced to such infinite distress, that rats, when they could be caught, were sold for four dollars a-piece; and a sailor, who died on board, had his death concealed for some days by his brother, who during that time lay in the same hammock with the corpse, only to receive the dead man's allowance of provisions. In this dreadful situation they were alarmed (if their horrors were capable of augmentation) by the discovery of a conspiracy among the marines on board the Asia, the Admiral's ship. This had taken its rise chiefly from the miseries they endured. For though no less was proposed by the conspirators than the massacring the officers and the whole crew, yet their motive for this bloody resolution seemed to be no more than their desire of relieving their hunger, by appropriating the whole ship's provisions to themselves. But their designs were prevented, when just upon the point of execution, by means of one of their confessors, and three of their ringleaders were immediately put to death. However, though the conspiracy was suppressed, their other calamities admitted of no alleviation, but grew each day more and more destructive; so that by the complicated distress of fatigue, sickness, and hunger, the three ships which escaped lost the greatest part of their men. The Asia, their Admiral's ship, arrived 1 Ed. 1776: "Outfit." |