ul,
her commander, told Captain Folger that his cowardly Spanish officers
wished him to strike before he fired the last broadside at our ship, and
only that we could not board him he would have done so.

"We returned to the coast after this, and captured many prizes. One
of these, the Spanish brig _Santa Isidora_ was placed in charge of Mr.
Parker, who, with ten hands, was ordered to take her to Port Jackson.
Then the same week--the _Lucy_ having parted company with us--we took
the corbeta _Santa Anna_. She was a fine, new vessel and a fast sailer,
and well armed. She had a prize crew put on board under the command of a
gentleman adventurer of our company, Mr. Chas. Maclaren, who was ordered
to follow Mr. Parker's prize to Port Jackson. Whether they ever reached
this place I cannot say. I know I never heard of the corbeta again, but
did hear that the _Santa Isidora_ was captured by the natives of the
Paumotu Islands and all hands massacred.

"During the time that we lay at the Galapagos, our kind and brave
captain continued to get worse from his wound (he had been struck by a
falling spar during an engagement with the _Astraea_, which had injured
him internally), and at last it was evident to us all that his days
were numbered. And then, too, his ardent and courageous spirit fretted
greatly because of some news we had heard from the _O'Caen_, an armed
American whaler, which on the 7th of August anchored near us. This
was that a Spanish sloop-of-war was at anchor at a little port on the
mainland, only a few days' sail from our anchorage. She was on her
way to Callao from the northern ports of North America and Mexico, and
carried tribute from the different Governors on those coasts. Much of
this tribute was in furs, sealskins, and other valuable commodities, and
she also had on board 170,000 dollars in money. Her crew were all very
sick, and she was leaking badly, having been ashore at San Diego. The
captain of this vessel had sent for assistance to Acapulco by a small
trading vessel, and the master of the _O'Caen_ said we could take
her easily. She would have proved a rich prize to us, and our captain
fretted greatly at his illness, for he was quite unable to do more than
speak in a whisper.

"Four days afterwards I was sent to watch by his bedside by the gunner,
and scarcely had I seated myself by him when he put his hand on mine,
and I saw he was trying to speak. I was about to leave him to call
assistance, but he