d not have taken her
at all events. Her gunner kept constantly in the powder-room, and
declared that he had taken the sacrament to blow up the ship if we had
boarded her, which accordingly made the men exceedingly resolute in her
defence. I the more readily gave credit to what this man told me, as he
gave a regular and circumstantial account of the engagement, conformable
to what I have given from my journal.

It is hardly to be doubted that we might have set this great ship on
fire, by converting one of our ships into a fireship for that purpose:
But this was objected to by all our officers, because we had goods of
value on board all our ships. The enemy on this occasion was the better
provided for us, having heard at Manilla, through our British
settlements in India, that two small ships had been fitted out at
Bristol for an expedition into the South Sea, and of which Captain
Dampier was pilot. On this account it was that they had so many
Europeans on board the great ship, most of whom had all their wealth
along with them, for which they would fight to the utmost; and it having
been agreed to pay no freight on the gun-decks, they had filled up all
the spaces between the guns with bales of goods, to secure the men. The
two ships were to have joined at Cape Lucas, expecting to meet us off
Cape Corientes or Navidad.

We returned again into our port on the coast of California on the 1st
January, 1710, and being resolved to make as quick dispatch as possible
for our passage to the East Indies, we immediately parted with our
prisoners, giving them the bark with a sufficiency of water and
provisions to carry them to Acapulco. We then occupied ourselves to the
7th in refitting and laying in a stock of wood and water; and had much
satisfaction in finding as much bread in our prize as might serve for
our long run to Guam, with the aid of the scanty remains of our old
stock. After a long disputatious negotiation, it was settled that Mr Fry
and Mr Stratton were to take charge of our prize, which we named the
Bachelor, though under Captain Dover, but they were not to be
contradicted by him in the business, as his business was to see that
nothing was done in her contrary to the interest of our owners and ships
companies, he being in the nature of agent, only with the title of chief
captain. At the same time, we put on board of this ship 35 men from the
Duke, 25 from the Duchess, and 13 from the Marquis, making in all 73
men, whic