they proposed to have
forced the great cabin: But on opening the chest, there appeared
nothing but fire-arms, which to them were of no use. There were indeed
abundance of cutlasses in the chest, but they were hidden by the
fire-arms being laid uppermost. This was a sensible disappointment to
Orellana and his Indians. By this time Pizarro and his companions in
the great cabin had been able to communicate with those below in the
gun-room and between decks, by conversing aloud through the cabin
windows; by which means they learnt that the English prisoners, whom
they chiefly suspected, were all safe below, and had not participated
in the mutiny; and by other circumstances they were at last made
sensible that Orellana and his people only were concerned in it. Upon
this information, Pizarro and the officers resolved to attack them on
the quarter-deck, before any of the discontented on board had so far
recovered from their surprise as to reflect on the facility of
seizing the ship by joining with the Indians. With this view, Pizarro
collected what arms were in the cabin and distributed them to those
who were with him. There were no fire-arms except pistols, and
for these they had neither powder nor ball; but having now a
correspondence with the gun-room, they lowered a bucket from the cabin
window, into which the gunner put a quantity of pistol cartridges out
of one of the gun-room ports. Having thus procured ammunition, and
loaded their pistols, they partly opened the cabin door, and fired
several shots among the Indians on the quarter-deck, though at first
without effect. At last Mindinuetta had the good fortune to shoot
Orellana dead; on which his faithful companions, abandoning all
thoughts of farther resistance, instantly leaped into the sea, where
they all perished. Thus was this insurrection quelled, and possession
of the quarter-deck regained, after it had been fully two hours in the
power of this great and daring chief, and his small band of gallant
unhappy countrymen.

Having thus escaped from imminent peril, Pizarro continued his
voyage for Europe, and arrived safely on the coast of Gallicia in the
beginning of the year 1746, after an absence of between four and five
years, and having, by attendance on our expedition, diminished the
royal power of Spain by above three thousand of their prime sailors,
and by four considerable ships of war and a patache. For we have seen
that the Hermione foundered at sea, the Guipu