The Spaniard Was, However, In No Hurry, Thinking, No Doubt,
That We Could Not Well Escape Him, Yet Was Within Pistol-Shot Of Us
Before The Last Of Our Men Got On Board, Being About Fifty In All.
We
now cut our cable, but our ship fell round the wrong way, so that I had
just room enough to fall clear of the enemy.
Being now close together,
the formidable appearance of the enemy struck an universal damp on the
spirits of my people; some of whom, in coming off from the shore, were
for jumping into the water and swimming on shore, which a few actually
did.
The enemy was a fine European-built ship, of 50 guns, and the
disproportion was so great between us, that there seemed no hopes of
escaping, as we were under his lee. I endeavoured to get into shoal
water, but he becalmed me with his sails, and confined us for the best
part of an hour, during which he handled us very roughly with his
cannon, making very little use of his small-arms, never allowing us a
moment's ease, but as soon as his broadside was ready, he gave his ship
the starboard helm, bringing as many of his guns to bear as possible,
and at the same time kept me from the wind. We returned his fire as
briskly as we could; but, in our precipitate retreat from the town, most
of our small arms were wetted, so that it was long before they were of
any use. During this action, there was a strange contusion on shore,
where the people had flocked down from the hills to extinguish the fire
in Payta, in which some of them were busily employed, while others stood
on the shore, spectators of our engagement. I was long in despair of
getting away from the Spaniard, expecting nothing less than to be torn
in pieces by his superior fire, unless we could have an opportunity of
trying our heels with him while our masts remained standing. I expected
every minute that he would board us, and hearing a hallooing among them,
and seeing their forecastle full of men, I concluded that they had come
to this resolution; but soon saw that it proceeded from our ensign being
shot down, on which I made another be displayed in the mizen-shrouds, on
sight of which they lay snug as before, keeping close upon our quarter.
Intending at length to do our business at once, they clapped their helm
hard a-starboard, in order to bring their whole broadside to bear, but
their fire had little effect, and it muzzled themselves, which gave us
an opportunity to get away from them.
This certainly was a lucky escape, after an engagement of three glasses
with an enemy so much our superior; for he had 56 guns and 450 men,
while we had only 20 guns mounted and only 73 men, of whom 11 were
negroes and two Indians.
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