termission till the
21st at night, when it fell calm. The Ladrones towed out seven large
vessels, with about two hundred row-boats to board them: but a breeze
springing up, they made sail and escaped. The Ladrones returned into the
bay, and anchored. The Portuguese and Mandarins followed, and continued
a heavy cannonading during that night and the next day. The vessel I was
in had her foremast shot away, which they supplied very expeditiously by
taking a mainmast from a smaller vessel.

"On the 23d, in the evening, it again fell calm; the Ladrones towed out
fifteen junks in two divisions, with the intention of surrounding them,
which was nearly effected, having come up with and boarded one, when a
breeze suddenly sprang up. The captured vessel mounted twenty-two guns.
Most of her crew leaped overboard; sixty or seventy were taken,
immediately cut to pieces, and thrown into the river. Early in the
morning the Ladrones returned into the bay, and anchored in the same
situation as before. The Portuguese and Mandarins followed, keeping up a
constant fire. The Ladrones never returned a single shot, but always
kept in readiness to board, and the Portuguese were careful never to
allow them an opportunity.

"On the 28th, at night they sent eight fire-vessels, which, if properly
constructed, must have done great execution, having every advantage they
could wish for to effect their purpose; a strong breeze and tide
directed into the bay, and the vessels lying so close together, that it
was impossible to miss them. On their first appearance, the Ladrones
gave a general shout, supposing them to be Mandarin vessels on fire, but
were very soon convinced of their mistake. They came very regularly into
the centre of the fleet, two and two, burning furiously; one of them
came alongside of the vessel I was in, but they succeeded in booming her
off. She appeared to be a vessel of about thirty tons; her hold was
filled with straw and wood, and there were a few small boxes of
combustibles on her deck, which exploded alongside of us without doing
any damage. The Ladrones, however, towed them all on shore, extinguished
the fire, and broke them up for firewood. The Portuguese claim the
credit of constructing these destructive machines, and actually sent a
despatch to the Governor of Macao, saying they had destroyed at least
one-third of the Ladrone's fleet, and hoped soon to effect their purpose
by totally annihilating them!

"On the 29th of