172 The VO I 
appear, or a Port open then we fired as quick as poffibie. 
Thus we continued for four Gaffes, about which time we 
received a Shot in the Main-mail, which much difabled it: 
Soon after, the Duchefs and we firing together, we came 
back clofe under the Enemy, and had like to have been 
all aboard her ; fo that we could make little Ufe of our 
Guns. Then we fell a-ftern in our Birth Along-fide, where 
the Enemy threw a Fire-ball out of one of her Tops, which, 
lighting upon our Quarter-deck, blew up a Cheft of Arms 
and Cartouch-boxes, all loaded, and feveral Cartridges of 
Powder in the Steerage •, by which means Mr. Vanbrugh , 
our Agent, and a Dutchman , were very much burnt. It 
might have done more Damage, had it not been quenched 
foon. After we got clear of each other, the Duchefs flood 
in for the Shore, where Jfhe lay braced to, mending her 
Rigging, &c. The Marquis fired feveral Shot, but to 
little Purpofe, her Guns being fmall : We were clofe aboard 
feveral times afterwards, till at lalt we received a fecond 
Shot in the Main-mad, not far from the other, which rent 
it miferably, and the Mali; fettled to it ; fo that we were 
afraid it would drop by the Board ; and, having our Rig- 
ging fhattered very much, we fleered off, and brought to, 
making a Signal to our Conforts what to do : In the In- 
terim, we got ordinary Fifhes for a Support to the Main- 
maft, and faflened it, as well as we could, to fecure it at 
prefent. Captain Courtney and Captain Cooke came aboard, 
with other Officers *, where we confidered the Condition the 
three Ships were in, their Malls and Rigging being much 
damaged, in a Place where we could get no Recruit j that, 
if we engaged her again, we could propofe to do no more 
than what we had already done, which was evident did her 
no great Hurt, becaufe we could perceive few of our Shot 
entered her Sides to any Purpofe ; and our fmall Arms 
availed lefs, there being not a Man to be feen Above-board ; 
that the leaft thing in the World would bring our Main- 
mall, and likewife the Duchefs’ s Fore-mall, by the Board, 
either of which, by its Fall, might carry away another Mall, 
and then we Ihould. lie a perfect But for the Enemy, having 
nothing to command our Ships with ; fo that, by his heavy 
Guns, he might either fink or take us : That, if we went 
to board her, we fhould run a great Hazard in lofing a 
great many Men, with little Hopes of Succefs, they have- 
ing above treble the Number aboard to oppofe us ; and 
there being now, in all our three Ships, not above 120 
Men fit for boarding, and thofe but weak, having been very 
fhort of Provifions ; fo that, if we had boarded her, and 
been forced off, or left any of our Men behind, the Enemy 
by that means might have known our Strength, and then 
gone into the Harbour, and took Poffelfion of the Prize 
in fpite of all we could do to prevent it. Befides, our 
Ammunition was very fhort, having only enough to engage 
a few dalles longer : All this being ferioufiy confidered, 
and knowing the Difficulty we fhould have to get Malls, 
and the Time and Provifions we mull Ipend before we 
could get them fitted, we refolved to forbear attempting 
her further, fince our battering her fignified little, and we 
had not Strength enough to board her: Therefore we agreed 
to keep her Company till Night, then to lofe her, and make 
the bell of our Way into the Harbour, to fecure the Prize 
we had already taken. We engaged firft and lalt about 
feven Hours, during all which time we had, aboard the 
Duke , but eleven Men wounded, three of whom were 
fcorched with Gunpowder. I was again unfortunately 
wounded in my Left Foot with a Splinter, juft before we blew 
up on the Quarter-deck ; fo that I could not Hand, but 
lay on my Back in a great deal of Mifery, Part of my 
Heel-bone being ftruck out, and all under my Ancle cut 
above half-through 5 which bled very much, and weakened 
me, before it could be dreffed and flopped. The Duchefs 
had about twenty Men killed and wounded : Three of the 
latter, and one of the former, were my Men. The Mar- 
quis had none killed or wounded, but two fcorched with 
Powder) The Enemy’s was a brave lofty new Ship, the 
Admiral of Manilla , and this the firft V oyage fhe had 
made. She was called the Vigonia , of about 900 Tons, 
and could carry fixty Guns, about forty of which were 
mounted with as many Pattereroes, all Brafs ; her Comple- 
ment of Men on board, as we were informed, was above 
450, befides Paffengers $ they added, that 150 of the Men 
1 
AGE S of Book’ I. 
on board this great Ship were Europeans , feveral of whom 
had been formerly Pirates, and, having now got all their 
Wealth aboard, were refolved to defend it to the laft. The 
Gunner, who had a Poll in Manilla , was an expert Man, 
and had provided the Ship extraordinary well for Defence, 
which made them fight fo defperately. They had filled 
up all between the Guns with Bales, to fecure the Men : 
She kept a Spanifh Flag at her Main-top-maft-head all the 
Time ffie fought us : We lhattered her Sails and Rigging 
very much, ffiot her Mizen-yard, killed two of her i Men 
out of her Tops, which was all the Damage we could lee 
we did them, tho’ we could not place lefs than 500 Shot 
(Six-pounders) in her Hull. Thefe large Ships are built at 
Manilla , with excellent Timber, that will not fplinter ; 
they have very thick Sides, much ftronger than we build 
in Europe . Thus ended our Attempt on the biggeft Ma- 
nilla Ship ; which I have heard related fo many ways at 
home, that I thought it neceffary to fet down a very par- 
ticular Circumftance of it, as it Hood in my Journal. Had 
we been together at firft, and boarded her, we might pro- 
bably have taken this great Prize ; but, after the Enemy 
had fixed her Netting-neck, and Clofe-quarters, they valued 
us very little. I believe alio W'e might have burnt her with 
one of our Ships ; but that was objected againft by all the 
Officers, becaufe we had Goods of V alue on board all our 
Ships. The Enemy was the better provided for us, be- 
caufe they had heard at Manilla , from our Englijh Settle- 
ments in India, that there were two fmall Ships, fitted from 
Brijlol , that defigned to attempt fomewhat in the South 
Seas, and that Captain Dampier was Pilot •, which was the 
Realbn they had fo many Europeans aboard the great Ship, 
molt of whom having, as I faid, their Wealth aboard, 
they would fight to the utmoft ; and, having agreed to 
pay no Freight there, had filled up all between the Guns 
with Bales, to fecure the Men. The two Ships were to 
have joined at Cape St. Lucas , expecting to meet us off 
Cape Corientes , or Natividad. This was a great Difap- 
pointment to us, and gave, no doubt, much Reputation to 
them : Indeed they defended themfelves gallantly ; and, in 
all human Probability, would have defended her to the laft * 
and yet, perhaps, they were as much indebted to our 
Squabbles, as to their own Courage and Conduct: Which 
ftiews what Care ought to be taken on board all fuch Vef- 
fels, to avoid Difputes, which are always fatal to great Un- 
dertakings, and fmall ones. We were lenfible of it, when 
it was too late ; but our Senfe of it would not recal what was 
paft, nor could it prevent what was to come •, for, inftead 
of taking Warning, as reafonable People ihould have done, 
by the Effects of this grofs Miftake, we, on the contrary, 
buffered ourfelves to be thrown by it into new and greater 
Diforders, than had hitherto arifen during the Voyage. 
34- On January 1. 1710. we returned again into Port ; 
and, as we were now determined to make as quick Difpatch 
as poffibie in our Paffage to the Eajl Indies, we immediately 
parted with our Prifoners, giving them the Bark, with 
Water and Provifions fufficient for their Voyage to Acapulco. 
Then we applied ourfelves to fettling our own Affairs. We 
ipent our Fime to the 7th in refitting, wooding, and wa- 
tering ; and very fatisfacftory it was for us to find as much 
Bread on board the Prize, as, with our old Stock, might 
fupply us in our long Run to Guam . On the 3d, we 
fetched our three wounded Men from on board the Duchefs . 
One of them, whofe Name was Thomas Toung , a Welfhman , 
had loft one of his Legs ; another, who was alfo a Weljh- 
man, had his Face miferably torn ; and a third, whofe 
Name was John Gold, was wounded in the Thigh ; and, 
befides thefe, there was a very honeft Portuguefe, one Ema- 
nuel Gonfalvez, killed. About this time. Captain Court- 
ney, and his Officers, with thofe on board the Marquis , were 
too willing to compliment Captain Dover with the chief 
Command of the Prize, which, till now, I thought he would 
not have accepted, his Polls already being above a Com- 
mander of any of our Prizes 1 but I and my Officers were 
againft it, becaufe we believed Captain Fry * or others, were 
fitter Perfons to take Charge of her j which we infilled on : 
And Captains Courtney and Cooks came to me, where they 
agreed to a Paper, that was drawn up while we were all to- 
gether, in fuch a manner, as I thought would have fatif- 
fied every one. Captain Courtney carried this Agreement 
to 
I 
