She had already thrown
overboard two-thirds of her complement. Excepting the officers and
their servants, scarcely any were capable of doing duty. Every one of
the pensioners had died, and most of the marines. For many weeks
afterwards, however, though several of the _Centurion's_ crew were sent
to her assistance with further refreshments, she was unable to beat up
to the anchorage. It was not until the 23rd of July that she at length
got into the bay. Her crew were now reduced to less than eighty men.
The sick, on being landed and well supplied with fresh provisions,
recovered sooner than was expected. Great anxiety was now felt on
account of the non-appearance of the _Anna Pink_, laden with provisions,
as the flour on board the other ships was almost exhausted. At last,
about the middle of August, she came in, having spent the greater part
of the intermediate period in harbour on the coast of Patagonia, where
the wild animals, killed by the crew, supplied them with abundance of
meat. None of her men had died.

The _Anna Pink_ was now broken up and her stores transferred to the
_Centurion_, which stood in great need of them, as it had been with much
difficulty that a fresh suit of sails had been made out of the canvas
remaining on board; it had been even necessary to unlay a cable to
obtain sufficient ropes for her rigging.

It was now computed that of the nine hundred and sixty-one men who had
left England in the _Centurion_, _Gloucester_, and _Trial_, six hundred
and twenty-six were dead, three hundred and thirty-five thus alone
remaining to man the three ships.

Brave as Anson was, he could not but dread lest he should, with his
diminished crews, fall in with Don Pizarro's squadron, not aware at the
time of its fate, which had been even worse than his own.

A vessel being seen in the north-east, which, having got near the
island, steered away towards the coast, it was concluded that she was
Spanish. On this Anson resolved to give her chase, and his crew,
hurrying on board the _Centurion_, bent sails, and by five in the
afternoon was under weigh.

For three days the chase was continued, when the stranger made her
escape. On steering back towards Juan Fernandez, the _Centurion_,
however, made out another sail, which at first bore down upon her.
Supposing that she was one of Pizarro's squadron, every preparation was
made for an engagement. On getting nearer, however, it was discovered
that she was a