nient
watering-places within these limits, thereby exposing such as should
confide in their relations to the risk of being destroyed by thirst.

Having received our cutter, the sole object of our coming a second
time before Acapulco, the commodore resolved not to lose a moment's
time longer, but to run off the coast with the utmost expedition, both
as the stormy season on the coast of Mexico was now approaching apace,
and as we were apprehensive of having the westerly monsoon to struggle
with when we came upon the coast of China; and therefore he no longer
stood towards Acapulco, as he now wanted no answer from the governor;
but yet he resolved not to deprive his prisoners of the liberty which
he had promised them; so that they were all immediately embarked in
two launches which belonged to our prizes, those from the Centurion in
one launch, and those from the Gloucester in the other. The launches
were well equipped with masts, sails, and oars, and, lest the wind
might prove unfavourable, they had a stock of water and provisions
put on board them sufficient for fourteen days. There were discharged
thirty-nine persons from on board the Centurion, and eighteen from the
Gloucester, the greatest part of them Spaniards, the rest Indians and
sick negroes: But as our crews were very weak, we kept the mulattoes
and some of the stoutest of the negroes, with a few Indians, to assist
us; but we dismissed every Spanish prisoner whatever. We have since
learnt, that these two launches arrived safe at Acapulco, where the
prisoners could not enough extol the humanity with which they had been
treated; and that the governor, before their arrival, had returned a
very obliging answer to the commodore's letter, and had attended it
with a present of two boats laden with the choicest refreshments and
provisions which were to be got at Acapulco; but that these boats
not having found our ships, were at length obliged to put back again,
after having thrown all their provisions overboard in a storm which
threatened their destruction.

The sending away our prisoners was our last transaction on the
American coast; for no sooner had we parted with them, than we and the
Gloucester made sail to the S.W., proposing to get a good offing from
the land, where we hoped, in a few days, to meet with the regular
trade-wind, which the accounts of former navigators had represented as
much brisker and steadier in this ocean, than in any other part of the
globe