INTRODUCTION. 



105 



to act, and inspired courage and spirit that brought about the means 

 of safety. But the crew were so exhausted with their incessant labour 

 of pumping and baling, that thirty men were borrowed from the 

 Valdivia, and twenty from the Independencia, to assist at the pumps ; 

 and having at length cleared the ship, on the 28th the squadron left 

 Fonseca bay. 



On the 6th January, 1822, Lord Cochrane put into the bay of 

 Tehuantepec * for water, where, not far in-land, he observed five 

 remarkable volcanoes : the district around is said to be fertile, and 

 the town of that name has a tolerable harbour, which, however, has 

 the inconvenience of a bar across the entrance. 



On the 15th they hove-to again off a white island, where they 

 found plenty of fresh water ; and having refreshed and watered, pur- 

 sued their voyage on the 19th, and on the 29th anchored at Acapulco. 

 This town, which owes all the celebrity it ever had to the rich Manilla 

 fleets and Spanish galleons which used to anchor in its harbour, which 

 is spacious and safe, is now little better than a mean village. It has 

 a castle, however ; a parish church, and two convents. Its permanent 

 inhabitants are about 4000, which number is doubled on the arrival 

 of the now only annual ship from Manilla. At that time a great 

 fair is held, when the inhabitants of the country round assemble, 

 and remain some weeks at Acapulco for the purposes of trade. But 

 they return to their homes as soon as possible, to escape from the 

 fever which is peculiar to the place. The climate is hot, damp, and 

 unhealthy, notwithstanding the admission of the free air through the 

 famous abra de San Nicolas, a passage opened through a mountain 

 for the purpose. After procuring some provisions, the squadron left 

 it on the 3d February, disgusted with the insolence, and, at the same 



* Tehuantepec, taken by the Buccaneers, 1687. There were only 180 of them; they 

 marched 1 2 miles over-land ; took the city, which had a population of 6000 Spaniards and 

 40,000 negroes and Indians, well fortified, and an abbey also very strong. The Buccaneers 

 took the market-place, with the cannon of the walls ; carried the abbey, sword in hand ; 

 kept possession and plundered for three days ; and then retired in good order to the 

 ships. 



