126 DAHLGREN. THE D1SCOVERY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 



were out fishing; and from them he learnt that the galleon was lying at its nioorings, bnt 

 that its departure was fixed for 14 March. In order to watch for it when it came out, 

 Anson disposed his vessels outside the entrance to the harbour; but the measures that 

 were taken that these proceedings should not be observed from the shore proved fruitless: 

 the galleon stayed in port, and it was afterwards learnt that the Viceroy had given orders 

 that its departure should be postponed till the following year. When all hopes of the rich 

 booty had been given up, Anson turned west, and with his sole remaining vessel — the 

 others having been abandoned — spent some time at the uninhabited island of Tinian, 

 one of the Mariannes, and finally sailed to Macao, there to await the favourable moment 

 to renew the hitherto unsuccessful designs on the Manila ship. 



1742. In this year there sailed from Ca vite the patache "Nuestra Sehora de Coba- 

 donga", under the command of General Don Geronimo Montero. Of him Anson says 

 that he was of Portuguese nationality, and that he was the most approved officer for skill 

 and courage of any employed on the galleon-route. Certain it is that he was one of the 

 most experienced: we have found him as Piloto Segwido as long ago as 1727; since 1729 

 he had made at least five voyages as Piloto Mayor, and he had already acted as General 

 once before, in 1740. He had thus earned his promotion by service, which was an extremely 

 rare thing at a time when the post of General seems to have been usually gained by any 

 qualifications except seamanship. 1 Now, however, he was to be more hardly handled 

 by fortune than were most of his less meritorious predecessors. 



Concerning Montero' s voyage from the Philippines to New Spain in 1742 we have 

 no manner of data. His return-journey from Acapulco was commenced on 15 April 1743. 

 Anson had now resolved to meet the galleon off the Embocadero with his refitted ship. 

 He had hoped with luck to make two prizes, namely not only Montero' s ship, but also 

 that which he had prevented from leaving Acapulco in the previous year. But the two 

 ships had not, as he hoped, sailed in company: the last-named had already reached its 

 destination in safety when, on 30 May 1743, Anson with his ship the "Centurion", reached 

 the waters off Cape Espiritu Santo. The galleon from Acapulco might be expected in the 

 month of June; but it was a long and troublesome period of cruising for the British before, 

 at sunrise on 30 June, the lookout at length reported a sail. They immediately steered 

 for it, and to their great surprise the British saw that the Spaniards, instead of changing 

 their course, came to meet them, prepared for action. The firing began about noon, when 

 the foes were within pistol-shot of one another. It was a stubborn fight, but the well- 

 aimed fire of the British caused so much damage and loss of life to the Spaniards that, 

 after about two hours f ighting, they were compelled to strike their flag. The Spanish had 

 67 killed and 84 wounded, among the latter the General, who at the very beginning of the 



1 M. Le Gentil says of him: "Il était parvenu oömme tous les généraux des galions de Manille, qui 

 ont quelquefois commencé par étre laquais; mais celui-ci était quelque chose, puisqu'il était bon pilote, au moins 

 ä ce qu'on m'a dit." — Le Gentil, who visited Manila in 1766, also tells us that people found fault with him 

 for his conduct during the fight: that he could have evaded Anson, and made his way to some harbour in the 

 Philippines, with whose coasts he was well acquainted. Le Gentil. however, defends him against these charges. 

 {Voyage dans les mers de VInde, T. II, Paris 1781, p. 210.) 



