ttle doubt
of arriving soon upon our intended station; as we expected, upon
the increasing our offing from Quibo, to fall in with the regular
trade-wind. But, to our extreme vexation, we were baffled for near a
month, either with tempestuous weather from the western quarter, or
with dead calms and heavy rains, attended with a sultry air; so that
it was the 25th of December before we got a sight of the island of
Cocos, which by our reckoning was only a hundred leagues from the
continent; and we had the mortification to make so little way, that we
did not lose sight of it again in five days. This island we found to
be in the latitude of 5 deg.20' north. It has a high hummock towards the
western part, which descends gradually, and at last terminates in a
low point to the eastward. From the island of Cocos we stood W. by N.,
and were till the 9th of January in running an hundred leagues more.
We had at first flattered ourselves, that the uncertain weather and
western gales we met with were owing to the neighbourhood of the
continent, from which, as we got more distant, we expected every day
to be relieved, by falling in with the eastern trade-wind: But as our
hopes were so long baffled, and our patience quite exhausted, we began
at length to despair of succeeding in the great purpose we had in
view, that of intercepting the Manilla galleon; and this produced
a general dejection amongst us, as we had at first considered this
project as almost infallible, and had indulged ourselves in the most
boundless hopes of the advantages we should thence receive. However,
our despondency was at last somewhat alleviated, by a favourable
change of the wind; for, on the 9th of January, a gale for the first
time sprang up from the N.E., and on this we took the Carmelo in tow,
as the Gloucester did the Carmin, making all the sail we could to
improve the advantage, for we still suspected that it was only a
temporary gale, which would not last long; but the next day we had the
satisfaction to find, that the wind did not only continue in the same
quarter, but blew with so much briskness and steadiness, that we now
no longer doubted of its being the true trade-wind. And as we advanced
apace towards our station, our hopes began to revive, and our despair
by degrees gave place to pleasing prejudices: For though the customary
season of the arrival of the galleon at Acapulco was already elapsed,
yet we were unreasonable enough to flatter ourselves, t