£06 



A VOYAGE TO Book VIII. 



gence fent by die Vice-roy to Peru to all the ports on 

 the coaft of the fouth-fea, as well as by exprefies dif* 

 patched from Guayaquil and Atacames to Panama, 

 deferred fending the fhip that year; which the enemy 

 being apprized of, they burnt the Aranzazu, as they 

 had before the other prizes, and continued their voy- 

 age towards the Philippines, where by a long perfeve- 

 rance in a moft tedious cruize they accomplilhed their 

 defigns. For the Acapuko fhip returning when all 

 the danger was imagined to be over, fell in with the 

 Centurion, and after a fliort, though fmart engage- 

 ment, was taken. 



But to reailume the thread of the narrative, to 

 which 1 hope this has been no difagreeable inter- 

 ruption. On the fifth of January 174?, 1 fet out 

 from Guayaquil for Qinto, being the very worft 

 time of the year for performing that journey-, and 

 as fuch I experienced it by feveral misfortunes. In 

 one of the rivers we were obliged to ford, the two 

 mules which firil entered were fwept away by the 

 current, and that which carried my portmanteau was 

 loft; and the other, on, which an Indian rode and 

 led the former, fwam with great difficulty to the 

 fhore, and the Indian faved himfelf by holding faft 

 by the creature's tail ; in which manner they were 

 carried near a quarter of a league below the ford. If 

 the travelling up the mountains was not attended 

 v;ith fuch imminent danger, it was extreamly trou- 

 blefome, a ipace of about half a league, having 

 taken me up from feven in the morning till feven 

 in the afternoon, the mules though light falling at 

 every ftep, nor w^as it an eafy matter to make them 

 rife. And foon after the creatures became fo fa- 

 tie^ued, thev e -en funk under their own weight. Ac 

 length I reached Quito on the nineteenth of the 

 fame month ; but had hardly alighted from the 

 mule with the hopes of refting mylelf after thefe 

 dangers and fatigues, ^v/hen the prefidenc informed 



me. 



