Chap. I. 
George Anson, Efq; 
but he who Teemed to be the Chief of the Spaniards de- 
clared to them, at the fame time, that they rifqued their 
Lives for this Money ; and that they fhould be inevitably 
hanged, if it was known, that they had fupplied them. Mr. 
Cummins afterwards parted with his Firelock, and fome 
Ammunition, in hopes of a Supply of wild Fowl ; but, 
finding Reafon to fufpeft, that the Spaniards intended fome 
foul Dealing, they got haftily on board, and continued their 
Voyage to Rio Grande. 
On the 23d, died Mr. Thomas Clerk , who had been 
Mafter of the Wager ; as did his Son on the Day following : 
And, on the 26th, died Thomas Maclean , Cook on board 
the fame Ship, at the Age of eighty-two, probably of Want ; 
for they had now nothing but a little Water to fuftain them. 
On the 28 th, they entered Rio Grande ; and a Portugueje 
Boat coming off, they furrendered to them. The Gover- 
nor of this Place treated them in a manner, which defer ves 
to be perpetually remembered : He went on board the 
Speedwell , and examined every Part of her, inquired into 
every little Circumftance of their Voyage, embraced them 
with the utmoft Affeftion, allured them of all the Relief in 
his rower, fent the Sick to the Flofpital, took the Lieute- 
nant of the W 2ger , and the Land-officers, to his own Houle, 
and ordered the Commandant to fee, that the reft wanted 
nothing, I his was afting like a Gentleman, an Officer, 
and a Cliriftian ; and is fuch a Teftirriony of the Faith and 
Honour of the Portuguese , as the Englijh Nation ought ne- 
ver to forget. Having conducted them hither, we fhall 
only obferve, that, of ieventy-one who made this perilous 
Voyage, there were living, on the 28th of January 1742, 
only tnirty Perfons ; and iome of them died afterwards. 
As for Mr. Bulkeley the Gunner, and Mr. Cummins the Car- 
penter, of the Wager , from whom we have this Account, 
which feems to be written with great Candour and Plain- 
nefs, they procured a Paffage to Portugal, and from thence 
1 to England , arriving at Spithead , January 1. 1743. It is 
; now I ime to return to the Commodore, whom we left cruif- 
Ing in the South Seas, in order to infert this Hiftory of the 
Shipwreck of the Wager in its proper Place. 
14. On October 20. I 74 1, the Commodore, with his 
two Prizes, were off the Hands of Lobos , in plain Englijh , 
Sele IJlands ; for the Spaniards call the Seles Lobos , from 
their Notion, that this Creature refembles a Wolf. There 
; are two of thofe Hands, called, in order to diftinguifh them, 
i Lobos de Sotavento , or the Leezvard IJland of Seles, and 
Lobos de Barlovento or the Windward IJland, of Seles. The 
former or thefe is, in the Spanijh Maps, laid down in the 
Latitude of 6° 25' South; and" the latter in 6° 33'. On 
1 the 23 d, the Agua de Sotavento , or Leeward Needle-point , 
L which is an high white Land, bore from them, North-eaft 
; by Earc, feven Leagues. The next Day, about two in the 
: Afternoon, they law a Sail; to which they immediately 
: gave Chace, and came up with her about fix in the Even- 
i ing, and took her. She was bound to fome Port to the 
>. Southward, with Plank and Iron ; and fo little Notion had 
( t ie Spaniards ot any Englijh Ships being in thofe Seas, that 
: the Captain had his Wife, and two Daughters, on board. 
The Commodore ordered them into his own Ship, and 
j during the Time they continued his Prifoners, entertained 
them conftantly at his Table, taking care to have the Wo- 
men treated with ftich Refpebt, as well as Decency, as made 
l a great Xmpreffion, not only on them, but on the Captain 
who gave the Commodore a very diftinft Account of the 
Situation of things in that Part of the World, and particu- 
lady of the little Town of Payta, on which the Commo- 
dore had a Befign 5 a Place often taken by our Privateers, 
and laft or all by Captain Shelvocke , in the Month of May 
1720 ; but, according to the Captain’s Account, was now 
pretty wefl recovered, and the People in tolerable Circum- 
qitances : therefore it was refolved to profecute this Defien. 
At the time this Refolution was taken, they were about 
fixty Leagues Weft South-weft of the Place ; and, notwith- 
ftandmg they made all the Difpatch in their Power, it was 
November 9. when they arrived within ten Leagues of that 
Port when the Saddle of Payta bore North North-eaft, in 
j;the Latitude of 5 0 South. 
I, 5 ' ,° n tbe 10th, a little after Noon, Preparation was 
aae for attacking the Place, from which they were not 
dihanc above five Leagues and an half. Mr. Brett , fecond 
Lieutenant of the Centurion , was intrufted with the Coni" 
mand offfixty-feven Men, embarqued in three Boats ; one 
oi eighteen Oars, the other two of eight Oars each, having 
the Spanijh Captain with him as a Guide. They kept un- 
der-fhore during the firft Part of the Evening, and, about 
ten at Night, entered the Port, and landed fafely, 'without, 
being perceived either by the Ships or Fort. They marched 
direftly towards that little Fortrels, which they might have 
taken by Surprize, and without Lois, if they had proceeded 
with any Regularity : But that was what their Officer could 
not prevail upon them to do ; for, they no fooner law a few 
People moving about, than they began to fire upon them ; 
which if they had not done, they might have marched up to 
the Walls without Difturbance. Their Fire having alarmed 
the P lace, and the Garifon in the Fort, the latter made feve- 
lal Difebarges of their Small-arms ; by which they had one 
Man killed, and fix or feven wounded. This did not at 
all difeourage the Sailors, who immediately puffied forward, 
and very foon forced the Gates of the Fort; upon which 
the Spaniards fled, and abandoned the Place, which, in 
itfelf was not very defenfible, the Works being in a very 
indifferent Condition, and the Cannon they had there, 
which were not above three or four Pieces, honey-combed 
to fuch a degree, that they were not fit for Ufe. 
The People of the Town, who were moft of them in 
then itJuds, no fooner heard this Nolle of firing, than they 
got up, and made all the Hafte they could to the Mountains, 
half-drefted and half-naked. The Governor was amongft 
the firft who provided for Safety by Flight ; and his Floufe, 
which was the heft, and the beii furniihed, in the Place, was 
one of the firft that was plundered, the Sailors being allowed 
to aft as they thought fit, for fome Hours. There 
were fome rich Clothes and Houftiold-ftuff found in the 
Place ; but no plenty of Provifions : Hogs, in no great 
Quantity, and abundance of Poultry, were all they°met 
v/ith, and not more Water than was neceffary to wafh them 
down, which was prefer ved in Jars by the People in the 
I own for their own CJfe, as having no freffi Water in the 
1 lace. ^ 1 he Report of this Place being grown exceffivelv 
rich again did not appear to be extremely well founded, fince 
the Silver found here did not amount to above 1 30,000 
Pieces of Eight, exclufiVe of two Chefts of Plate and Jewels. 
Several Meffages were fent to the Governor, requiring him 
to ranfom the Town, which otherwife would be burnt : But 
he would liften to no fuch Propofal ; and therefore, having 
kept Poffeffion of it for three Days, and rifled it effeftually, 
it was judged proper to fet every thing on fire, except the 
Churches, and burn it down to the Ground ; which was 
eauly done, fince the Houfes were equally dry and flight ; 
lo that, when once lighted, the Town prefently blazed from 
one End of it to the other. The Place is far from being con- 
fideiable either by its I rade, its Strength, or its Situation. 
Ail that can oe faid of it is, that it affords a convenient, 
and, for this Part of the World, a fafe Port, where Ships’ 
may anchor before the 1 own in about ten Fathom Water. 
This is very commodious for fuch Veffels as are bound either 
to or from Panama , efpecially as they keep here conftantly 
Magazines pretty well filled with Provifions, which, how- 
ever, are brought thither from other Places ; for the Coun- 
try about Payta affords but little. There were, at the time 
the Town was taken, five Sail of Ships in the Harbour, and 
one at Anchor in the Road. The former they deftroyed ; 
and the Lieutenant of tne Trial s Prize was put into the lat- 
tei, which, nowever, they did not keep above a Fort- 
night. 
__ On the 13 th, all things of Value being on board, and the 
down in P James, they quitted Payta, having firft given 
the Spanijh Captain a Certificate, that whatever Alii fi ance 
tney leceived from him was by Compulfion, and havino- 
made him a confiderable Prelent for the Pains he had taken. 
16, On the 1 8th, at three in the Afternoon, they faw 
the Gloucejier ; which joined them about nine, the Ships 
fainting each other with mutual Huzzas. The Gloucejier 
failed from the Hands of Juan Fernandez on October 1. and, 
on the 2 1 ft, being oft the Hands of Lobos, they difeovered 
a ftnall Veffel ; to which their two Lieutenants, and feven 
1 len, in the Barge, gave Chace, and foon came up with, 
and made Prize of her. She had in her eight Men and a 
Boy, and appeared to be laden with Cotton ; but, upon a 
ftrift 
