y British troops, the commodore
conceived he might easily procure an intercourse with our countrymen,
on the other side of the isthmus of Darien, either by means of
the Indians, who are greatly disposed to favour us, or even by
the Spaniards themselves; some of whom might be induced, by proper
rewards, to carry on this correspondence; which, when once begun,
might be continued with little difficulty. By this means, Mr Anson
flattered himself that he might procure a reinforcement of men from
the other side, and that, by settling a prudent plan of co-operation
with our commanders in the West Indies, he might even have taken
Panama. This would have given the British nation the command of the
isthmus, by which we should in effect have become masters of all the
wealth of Peru, and should have held an equivalent in our hands
for any demand, however extraordinary, that might have been thought
advisable to make on either branch of the Bourbon family.

Such were the magnificent projects which the commodore revolved in his
mind, when at the island of Juan Fernandez, notwithstanding the feeble
condition to which his force was then reduced; and, had the success
of the expedition to the West Indies been answerable to the general
expectation, these views had certainly been the most prudent that
could have been devised. But, on examining the papers found on board
the Carmelo, our first prize, it was then learnt, though I deferred
mentioning it till now, that the attempt on Carthagena had failed, and
that there was no probability of our fleet in the West Indies engaging
in any new enterprise that could at all facilitate this plan. Mr
Anson, therefore, had relinquished all hope of being reinforced across
the isthmus, and consequently had no inducement to proceed at present
for Panama, being incapable of assaulting that place; and there was
reason to believe there was now a general embargo over all the coast
of the South Sea. The only feasible measure that now remained, was to
steer as soon as possible for the southern parts of California, or the
adjacent coast of Mexico, and there to cruise for the Manilla galleon,
which was now known to be at sea on her voyage to Acapulco; and we had
no doubt of being able to get upon that station in sufficient time to
intercept her, as she does not usually arrive at Acapulco till
towards the middle of January, and, being now only about the middle of
November, we did not suppose our passage thither wou