[Footnote 272: The Pecary, Tajacu, or Mexican hog, the Sus Tajapin of naturalists, is here meant, which is an indigenous animal of the warmer parts of America, and is found in one of the West India islands. It has no tail, and is particularly distinguished by an open glandular orifice on the hinder part of the back, which discharges a fetid unctuous liquid; and which orifice has been vulgarly mistaken for the navel.--E.]
On the 25th January, we discovered a sail in the morning, about two leagues to leeward, to which we gave chase for some time; but seeing she was Europe-built, and fearing she might be a man of war belonging to the enemy, I hauled on a wind, and in half an hour it fell dead calm. We soon after saw a boat rowing towards us, which proved the pinnace of our consort the Success, commanded by her first lieutenant, Mr Davison. This was a most unexpected meeting to us both, Mr Davison being surprised to find me in such a condition, and I no less so to find the Success in these seas. I gave him an account of our misfortunes, and of all that had befallen us during the long interval of our separation, and he related all the remarkable incidents that had befallen them. A breeze of wind springing up, I bore down upon the Success, and went aboard of her; when I gave Captain Clipperton, and Mr Godfrey, our agent-general, the whole history of my voyage, expecting to have been treated by them as belonging to the same interest, but found them unwilling to have any thing to do with me, now that my ship was lost. I trusted, however, that Captain Clipperton would let me have such necessaries as he could spare, on which he said, I should know more of his mind next day. Among other discourses, he told me that he was just come from the island of Cocos, his people very sickly, and on short allowance. I then offered my service to pilot him to Mariato, which was not above thirty leagues distant, where he might have refreshed his company, and supplied his wants; but he was resolved to make the best of his way for the Tres Marias, where he said there was plenty of turtle to be had, and so I left him for the night.
Next morning, as I was going again on board the Success with some of my officers, Captain Clipperton spread all his canvass, and crowded away from us. On this I returned to my ship, fired several guns, and made signals of distress, which were not regarded by him, till his officers exclaimed against his barbarity, and at last he brought to. When I had again got up with him, I sent Mr Brooks to know the reason of his abrupt departure, and to request the supply of several necessaries, which I was willing to pay for. On these terms, he spared me two of his quarter-deck guns, sixty round shot, some musket-balls and flints, a Spanish chart of the coast of Mexico, with part of China and India, a half-hour glass and half-minute glass, a compass, and about three hundred-weight of salt: But all my arguments could not prevail with him to let me have any thing out of his medicine-chest for Mr Coldsea, who was still very ill of his wound. For what we now had from the Success, we returned some bales of coarse broad-cloth, as much pitch and tar as he would have, and some pigs of copper: I gave him also a large silver-ladle for a dozen spadoen, or Spanish swords. This being concluded, I offered my services, assuring him I had a pretty good ship, and that our cargo was of some value: To this he answered, if my cargo were gold, he had no business with me, and I must take care of myself. Mr Hendric, our agent, Mr Rainer, and Mr Dodd, our lieutenant of marines, weary of the hard work imposed upon them, desired my leave to go on board the Success, which I consented to, and Captain Clipperton left us to shift for ourselves, being now near the island of Cano.
I was now for returning southwards, to try our fortunes in the bay of Panama, but the majority opposed me through fear, insisting to go to the Tres Marias, to salt turtle at these islands, and then to stretch over for India. We accordingly directed our coarse that way, but as the wind near the land continued in the west, and the coast of Mexico trended nearly N.W. by W. we crept so slowly to windward, that we began to be very short of provisions before we got the length of Realijo, on which our design of landing there was renewed; but this intention was soon frustrated, as we were blown past that place by a tequante peque, for so the Spaniards on this coast call a violent gale at N.E. As we continued our voyage along shore, we again fell in with the Success, then in quest of Sonsonate, expecting there to receive the ransom of the Marquis of Villa Roche who had been some time a prisoner on board. We ranged close under her stern, and asked how Captain Clipperton and the rest of the gentlemen did, but received no answer, and the Success steered one way, while we went another. After this, calms, contrary winds, and unaccountable currents, so delayed our proceedings, that were reduced to a very short allowance, which we were forced to diminish daily, and had been reduced to very great distress, had we not from time to time found turtle floating on the surface of the sea, for which we kept a good look-out, being able to discover them even at great distances, by the sea-birds perching on their backs. On sight of these, we were forced often to forego taking advantage of the wind; and, besides often losing some of our way in pursuit of them, they had still a worse effect, as dressing them occasioned a great consumption of our water.
Being now threatened with almost certain perdition if means were not fallen upon to avoid a state of absolute famine, I proposed that we should attempt to plunder some small town as we coasted along shore. At this time Guotalco was the nearest port; but, as we were standing in for it, we saw a sail a considerable way to leeward, which we considered more proper for us to endeavour to capture than to venture on shore, for which purpose we bore down upon her, which proved to be the Success. When sufficiently near, I made the private signal formerly concerted between us, but Captain Clipperton hauled his wind, and did not lie by a moment for us to get up with him. We were now so for to leeward of Guatalco, that it was in vain to beat up for that port, especially on an uncertainty. We were now reduced to a small daily allowance of calavances, which not being sufficient to keep us alive, we had recourse to the remainder of our smoked congers which had been neglected for some months, and had been soaking and rotting in the bilge-water, so that they were now as disgusting food as could be. Under these calamitous circumstances, we again met the Success near port Angels, in lat. 15° 50' N. long. 96° 25' W. Having exchanged signals, we stood so near each other that a biscuit might have been chucked aboard, yet did not exchange a word, as Clipperton had ordered his officers and ship's company to take no notice of us: Yet was Captain Clipperton so sensible of the difficulties and hazards we had to encounter in our design of going for India, that he said the child just born would be grey-haired before we should arrive there. We were now in a most miserable situation, wandering upon an inhospitable coast in want of every thing, and all the land we had seen was so wild and open to the sea, that it would have been impossible for us to have landed any where, and nothing could have urged us to make the attempt but the extreme want we were now in.
On the 12th March, being off the port of Acapulco towards evening, we saw a ship between us and the shore, which turned out to be the Success, when Clipperton not only answered my private signal, but also that for speaking with me. After his late inhumane behaviour, I would hardly have trusted him, had we not been so near Acapulco, where I thought he meant to cruize for the Manilla ships, and now wished to have our assistance, wherefore I bore down alongside. He now sent his second lieutenant, Captain Cooke, with a very obliging letter to me, stating that he was cruizing for the homeward-bound Manilla ships, and desired me to assist him in the enterprise, with which view he desired me to come on board next morning, to consult on the best plan of attacking her, and proposed an union of the two companies. I was well pleased at this offer, and returned an answer that I should be with him early. I then read his letter to my people, who all expressed their readiness to join in the enterprise; but, as Clipperton had used us so unhandsomely, they desired me to have some security for their shares, signed by Clipperton, Godfrey the agent, and the rest of the officers in the Success.
I went aboard the Success next morning, accompanied by Brooks and Randal, my lieutenants, and was received with much apparent civility, all animosities being forgotten, and we seemed now in the most perfect harmony. I first told Captain Clipperton and Mr Godfrey of the paper expected by my officers and men, entitling them to such shares as were allowed by the original articles, to which they readily consented, and drew up an instrument fully answerable to what my people desired. We then proceeded to our consultation, when it was agreed that I should send most of my people on board the Success as soon as the Manilla ship appeared, leaving only a boat's crew with me to bring me away in case I should have an opportunity to use my vessel as a fire-ship, or smoker, in case she should prove too hard for the Success. We also determined to board her at once, as otherwise we should have much the worst of the contest, owing to her superior weight of metal, and her better ability to bear a cannonade. Clipperton assured me he was certain of the time this ship was to sail from Acapulco, being always within a day or two after Passion-week, of which time a fortnight was yet to come. Before returning to my own ship, I informed Captain Clipperton of our scarcity of water, when he told me he had eighty tons, and would spare me as much as I wanted, or any thing else his ship afforded. I had now the pleasure of enjoying my command as fully as ever, and my whole remaining crew, from the highest to the lowest, expressed their satisfaction at our present prospects. Morphew, the ringleader of all our disorders, fearing my resentment might fall heavily on him, contrived to insinuate himself into the favour of the captain and officers of the Success, by a submissive deportment, and presents, and, in the end, left me on the 14th March, being received on board that ship. On the 15th, Mr Rainer came on board my ship, to visit his old ship-mates, and staid all night. I constantly reminded Clipperton of our want of water, and he as often promised to supply us with a large quantity at once.
We thus continued to cruize in good order, and with great hopes, till the 27th March, when I had to suffer the most prodigious piece of treachery that could be imagined. We used to cruize off and on, at a convenient distance from the shore, so as not to be discovered from the land, yet so that it was impossible for any ship to leave the port of Acapulco without being seen by us. As my ship did not sail so well as the Success, Clipperton used to shorten sail, particularly at night, and shewed us lights on all necessary occasions. Towards evening of that day, he stretched about two leagues a-head of us, and I could not see that he lowered even a topgallant-sail for us to come up with him. I kept standing after him however, till almost a-shore on the breakers, when I had to tack and stand out to sea. Next morning no ship was to be seen, which reduced us to the most terrible apprehensions, considering our sad situation for want of water, and our vast distance from any place where we could expect to procure any, as we had now no other choice but either to beat up 220 leagues to the Tres Marias, or to bear away for the gulf of Amapala, at a much greater distance. I was afterwards informed, by some of Clipperton's officers, whom I met with in China, that he had done this cruel action absolutely against the repeated remonstrances of his officers, who abhorred such an act of barbarity. I also learnt afterwards, by some Spaniards from Manilla, that the Acapulco ship sailed about a week after we desisted from cruizing for her. This ship was the Santo Christo, carrying upwards of forty brass guns, and was exceedingly rich.
In the sad situation we were now reduced to, every thing was to be hazarded, and any experiment tried that promised the smallest chance of success. We continued our course therefore, under terrible inconveniences, distressed for water and provisions, and weak in point of number; yet so far from being united by our common danger, that our people could not be restrained within the bounds of common civility. The winds and weather being favourable, we found ourselves before the port of Sansonate [273] on the 30th March, about sun-set, when we discovered a ship of good size at anchor in the harbour. Being a fine moonlight evening, I sent my first lieutenant in the yawl, with some of our best hands, to see what she was. Soon afterwards we heard some guns fired, and on the return of the lieutenant, he reported that she was a stout ship, having at least one tier of guns. Little regarding her apparent strength, or our own weakness, as we thought our necessities made us a match for her, we continued plying in all night, and prepared to engage her. At sun-rise the land-breeze blew so fresh from the shore, that we worked in but slowly; and in the mean time we received all their fire on every board we made, but without returning a single shot. Their boat also was employed in bringing off soldiers from the shore, to reinforce their ship; and they hung up a jar of about ten gallons of powder, with a match, at each main and fore-yard-arm, and at the bowsprit end, to let fall on our deck, in case we boarded them, which contrivance, if it had taken effect, would have made an end of both ships, and all that were in them. Seeing them so desperate in their preparations, I could not but expect a warm reception; but as our case would not admit of delay, at ever so hazardous a rate, we were not to be dismayed. About eleven in the forenoon the sea-breeze set in, and, to make our small force as available as might be, I ordered all our three guns to be placed on that side from which we were likely to engage. As the sea-breeze freshened we ran fast towards them, during which our small arms were effectually employed to break their powder-jars before we should board them, which we did without delay, and they submitted after exchanging a few shots.
[Footnote 273: The port of Aeazualte, at the mouth of the river Samsonate, in the province of that name.--E.]