This Is At First Green, But
Becomes Yellow When Ripe, Having Black Seeds.
When gathered they are
laid in the sun, which makes them soft and of a chesnut colour, when
they are squeezed flat by the Indians.
The Spaniards buy this commodity
at a cheap rate from the Indians, and afterwards preserve it in oil.
The 10th we sent four of our canoes to wait for us at the port of
Angelos, about ten miles W. from Guataico, and on the 12th we sailed
from Guataico. The 23d we landed 100 men at Angelos, where they got salt
beef, maize, salt, hogs, and poultry but could bring little on board,
being at a distance from the shore. Hearing of a stout ship lately
arrived at Acapulco from Lima, and as Captain Townley was much in need
of a better ship, it was agreed to endeavour to cut that ship out of the
harbour. Acapulco is a town and harbour in lat. 16 deg. 50' N. long. 99 deg.
44' W. on the western coast of New Spain, and belonging to the city of
Mexico, being the only place of commerce on this coast, and yet there
are only three ships that come to it annually. Two of these go every
year between this port and Manilla in Luconia, one of the Philippines,
and the third goes once a year to and from Lima in Peru. This last comes
to Acapulco about Christmas, laden with quicksilver, cacao, and dollars,
and waits the arrival of the Manilla ships, from which she takes in a
cargo of spices, calicos, muslins, and other goods of India and China,
and then returns to Lima. This is only a vessel of moderate size; but
the two Manilla ships are each of about 1000 tons burden.
These Manilla ships arrange their voyages in such a way that one or the
other is always at Manilla. One of them sails from Acapulco about the
beginning of April; and after sixty days passage across the Pacific
Ocean, touches at Guam, one of the Ladrones, to procure refreshments.
She remains here only three days, and pursues her voyage for Manilla,
where she arrives in the mouth of June. The other ship, being ready
laden at Manilla with India commodities, sets sail soon after for
Acapulco. From Manilla she steers a course to the latitude of 36 deg. or 40 deg.
N. before she can fall in with a wind to carry her to America, and falls
in first with the coast of California, and then is sure of a wind to
carry her down the coast to Acapulco. After making Cape Lucas, the S.
point of California, she runs over to Cape Corientes, in lat. 20 deg. 26'
N. whence she proceeds along the coast to Selagua, where the
passengers for Mexico are landed, and then continues along the coast to
Acapulco, where she usually arrives about Christmas.
This port of Acapulco is very safe and convenient, and of sufficient
capacity to contain some hundred ships without danger. There is a low
island across the entrance, stretching from E. to W. about a mile and a
half long by a mile in breadth, having a deep channel at each end,
through either of which ships may enter or go out, providing they go in
with the sea-breeze, and out with the land-wind, which regularly blow at
stated times of the day and night. The channel at the west end of the
isle is narrow, but so deep as to have no anchorage, and through this
the Manilla ship comes in; but the Lima ship takes the other channel.
The harbour runs eight miles into the land to the north, when it closes
up and becomes narrow, after which it stretches a mile to the west. At
the entrance of this channel, and on the N.W. side, close to the shore,
stands the town of Acapulco, near which is a platform or battery with a
good number of guns; and on the east side of the channel, opposite the
town, there is a strong castle, having not less than forty pieces of
large cannon, and the ships usually ride at the bottom of the harbour,
under the guns of this castle.
Captain Townley went with 140 men in twelve canoes to endeavour to cut
out the Lima ship; but finding her at anchor within 100 yards of both
the castle and platform, found it impossible to effect his purpose, so
that he was obliged to return much dissatisfied. We accordingly sailed
on the 11th November along the coast to the N.W. between Acapulco and
Petaplan, where we found every where good anchorage two miles from
shore, but the surf beat with such violence on the coast that there was
no safe landing. Near the sea the country was low, and abounding in
trees, especially spreading palm-trees, some of which were twenty or
thirty feet high in the stem, but of no great size. This part of the
country was intermixed with many small hills, mostly barren, but the
vallies seemed fertile. The hill of Petaplan, or Petatlan, sends out a
round point into the sea, called Cape Jequena, in lat. 17 deg. 27' N.
which appears from sea like an island, and a little farther west there
is a knot of round hills, having an intervening bay, in which we
anchored in eleven fathoms. We here landed 170 men, who marched fourteen
miles into the country, when they reached a wretched Indian village,
deserted by the inhabitants, so that we only found one mulatto-woman and
four young children.
Proceeding on the 18th about two leagues farther to the N.W. we came to
a pretty good harbour named Chequetan, having the convenience of a
good fresh-wafer river and plenty of wood. On the 19th we landed
ninety-five men, having the mulatto-woman for their guide, at
Estapa,[180] a league west from Chequetan.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 112 of 221
Words from 113395 to 114395
of 224764
