xchanging
of a few shot. When it grew dark the Spanish admiral put out a light as
a signal to his fleet to anchor. We saw the light in the admiral's top
about half an hour, and then it was taken down. In a short time after we
saw the light again, and being to windward, we kept under sail,
supposing the light to have been in the admiral's top.

But, as it proved, this was only a stratagem of theirs, for this light
was put out a second time at one of their barques' topmast head, and
then she went to leeward, which deceived us. In the morning, therefore,
contrary to our expectations, we found they had got the weather-gauge
of us, and were coming upon us with full sail. So we ran for it, and
after a running fight all day, were glad to escape. Thus ended this
day's work, and with it all that we had been projecting for four or five
months.

The town of Puebla Nueva was taken with 150 men, and in July, being 640
men in eight sail of ships, we designed to attempt the city of Leon. We
landed 470 men to march to the town, and I was left to guard the canoes
till their return. With eighty men Captain Townley entered the town, and
was briskly charged in a broad street by 170 or 200 Spanish horsemen;
but two or three of their leaders being knocked down, the rest fled. The
Spaniards talked of ransom, but only to gain time to get more men. Our
captains therefore set the city on fire, and came away.

_V.--Home by the East Indies_

Afterwards we steered for the coast of California, and some of us taking
the resolution of going over to the East Indies, we set out from Cape
Corrientes on March 31, 1686. We were two ships in company, Captain
Swan's ship, and a barque commanded under Captain Swan by Captain Tait,
and we were 150 men--100 aboard of the ship, and 50 aboard the barque,
besides slaves. It was very strange that in all the voyage to Guam, in
the Ladrones, we did not see one fish, not so much as a flying fish.

From Guam we went to Mindanao in the Philippines. About this time some
of our men, who were weary and tired with wandering, ran away into the
country. The whole crew were under a general disaffection, and full of
different projects, and all for want of action. One day that Captain
Swan was ashore, a Bristol man named John Reed peeped into his journal
and lighted on a place where Captain Swan had inveighed bitterly against
most of his men. Captain Tait, who had been abused by Captain Swan, laid
hold of this opportunity