Guayaquil, early in the morning of the ninth of October, 1820, effected her glorious revolution. The officers belonging to the Peruvian garrison, and many of the principal inhabitants, had, during the preceding night, formed the plan, and at daybreak the governor and several other Spaniards were embarked on board the schooner Alcance, and sent to the head quarters of the army under General San Martin. During the first month after the revolution Guayaquil experienced the oppression of its A division of the Colombian army was stationed, at this time, at Babaoyo, commanded by General Sucre, with the view of invading Quito as soon as the season should permit; yet, excepting such troops as had been sent from Guayaquil, and placed under the command of General Sucre, the armed force was under the direction of the government; but the fear of being invaded by the Spaniards The arrival of the Chilean vessels of war gave the government of Guayaquil an opportunity of addressing themselves to the Quitenos, "assuring them, that Peru was entirely free, and that the liberating naval force had arrived at Guayaquil for the protection of that part of the new world." This was a ruse de guerre not uncommon in the new world, and under similar circumstances practised even in the old. On our arrival General Sucre sent Colonel Ibarra to compliment Lord Cochrane, as the hero of the Pacific, the magnanimous supporter of Colombian liberty. The repairs of the vessels of war being completed so far as they could be, on the first of December we left Guayaquil, but to our great annoyance we found, that the leak in the O'Higgins was as bad as ever; indeed, such was the state of this frigate, that ever since our arrival at Pisco a hundred and fifty men had been constantly kept at the pumps. It may be asserted, that no expedition ever left port under such peculiarly disadvantageous circumstances as the present. The flag-ship was Having left the Guayaquil river, we touched at a small port in the province of Guayaquil, called Salango, where we watered the ships, not having done this before because his lordship wished to drop down the river as light as possible; besides, at the PunÁ it is very difficult to procure a sufficient quantity of good water. On the eleventh, we reached the small island of Cocos, so called from the abundance of palms which grow there. Lord Cochrane landed, and a Felucca hove in sight; a signal was immediately made to the Valdivia to chase, and having captured her, she proved to be a deserter from Callao. The men on board informed his lordship, that after the departure of the Chilean vessels of war, San Martin not only objected to pay them their arrears, even those who left the Valdivia at Ancon without the year's pay given to the rest, and the reward or premium promised, but the foreign seamen at Callao, who had served in the Chilean fleet, were pressed into the service of Peru. The felucca had been thus manned and sent to the Chorillos, to prevent all kinds of smuggling; but she had taken up a cargo of While at anchor here, a canoe came to the island, having two indians on board, and a young man of a respectable appearance, who informed me, that every thing was in the most perfect state of tranquillity in Mexico, and all under the regularly established royal authorities. The fact was, the young man had been sent from San Miguel, to learn who and what we were; but of this, by order of the Admiral, I kept him ignorant, and he began to fear, on hearing the Spanish language spoken, that ours was a Spanish force sent from Manilla. After conversing a considerable time, and having been repeatedly assured by him that all was under the kingly authority in Mexico, I asked him why he bore the tri-coloured ribbon in his hat; he blushed, hesitated, and then said, "it is too late to deceive you, the whole of Mexico is independent of Spain; Mexico declared its independence on the thirteenth of June last, Guadalaxara on the fourteenth, Tepec on the seventeenth, and San Blas on the nineteenth; the provinces of Guadalaxara, Tlascala, Guanajuato, Puebla, Zacatecas, Oajaca, Valladolid, Bajio, Purnandia, and Vera Cruz, have also declared themselves independent of the capital." All things being ready, we left the bay of Fonseca on the twenty-eighth of December, and on the following night and the five successive ones, we were delighted with the sight of a volcano in its greatest state of activity. The streams of ignited lava rolled down the sides, and at intervals enormous masses of fiery matter were thrown into the air, and falling on the sides of the mountain rebounded and fell to the bottom. We calculated that our distance from the mountain was about thirty miles; we were sometimes nearer to it. From its situation we conceived it to be San Miguel el Viejo, but of this were not quite certain. We sailed along the coast, which is generally very bold; in some parts the forests extend to a considerable distance from the sea side, and near to the coast are a great abundance of coco-nut palms; from some of them we procured nuts, but they were very small, perhaps from a want of salt at the roots of the trees. This supposition is founded on the fact, that I have seen at different places, where the palms do not grow near the sea, that the proprietors had occasionally put a quantity of salt to the roots, without which they produced no fruit. In other parts the coast was intersected with small ravines, having generally a stream of water On the twenty-seventh of January, 1822, we made the mouth of the port of Acapulco, where we found the brig Araucano, and schooner Mercedes; the former having been sent ahead to watch the entrance to the harbour, and the latter to Realejo to obtain information respecting the Spanish frigates; but unfortunately no intelligence had been received, except that they had sailed from Acapulco on the third of December, with a secret destination. On the evening of the same day we entered and came to an anchor, and his lordship was honoured with a visit from a deputation sent by the governor in the name of his most serene highness Don Agustin de Iturbide, then President of Mexico; and of the bishop of Guamanga, who had been exiled When at Guayaquil we met with these two gentlemen. They had impressed the government with the hoax, that they were ambassadors from Chile to the newly-established authorities in Mexico; but unfortunately the dates of their passports by the Chilean government were prior to the news of the establishment of the new authorities in Mexico. After this anachronism was discovered. Lord Cochrane requested the government to close the port until the Chilean vessels of war should be ready to sail, to which they agreed: this was done to prevent any intelligence being given to the common enemy. The ambassadors remonstrated, and the government, not wishing to offend that of Chile, was intimidated; but, when Lord Cochrane requested that they would shew their credentials, On the third of February, after the squadron was under weigh, his lordship received the following note from the president of Mexico: "Most Excellent Sir,—The governor of Acapulco has informed me, by note dated the twenty-eighth of January, of your happy arrival, and that of the squadron you honour by commanding, at that port, one of those belonging to this empire, and adds, that every respect has been paid to yourself and those who have the glory to serve under you, who have been treated as friends, ready to assist us in the sacred cause—the protection of our liberty. Interested, as I am, in the prosperity of my country, I feel the greatest pleasure in the generous offer of your excellency, and the liberal determination of our brethren of Chile. I have ordered the governor of Acapulco to offer to your excellency, on the behalf of this government and my fellow citizens, our most grateful acknowledgments. "Two commissioners will leave this capital, with orders to communicate to your excellency matters of high importance to the state: I hope you will receive them as freemen—the representatives of this great empire, and with that goodness which is so characteristic of your excellency. "I should feel extremely gratified at having the honour of presenting to you my respects personally, that we might discuss some points which would contribute to the glory of this empire, in addition to the many and interesting services you have rendered to other free states; but a multiplicity of business deprives me of this honour, which my commissioners will enjoy, unless your excellency can allow me the pleasure of accepting our sentiments of gratitude in this court, where you would be received in the honourable manner you deserve, and every care would be taken to render your journey and residence as comfortable as possible. "I remain with all due respect, &c., (Signed) Agustin Iturbide. Mexico, February 1st, 1822." The news obtained from a vessel which entered the port on the second of February, and the day of the arrival of the commissioners, not being mentioned, his lordship determined to follow the Spanish frigates, composing the last relic in the Pacific, and on the destruction of which he was fully determined. Acapulco lies in 16° 36´ north latitude, 99° 53´ 45´´ west longitude: the port enjoys every advantage that can possibly be imagined: Some of the muleteers from the interior wore a very picturesque dress; over an under shirt they had a short one, like the indians, sitting close to their bodies and arms, blue breeches, the seams being tastefully embroidered with coloured silks; the calves of their legs wrapped in buff-coloured leather, carefully tied on, and hanging loose, with laced boots of the same material and colour; a coloured sash round their waists, and large black hats on their heads, with a thick roll of different coloured cloths for a hat-band. All the people seemed to be particularly clean both in their clothes and persons; but this is generally the case in hot climates. The market is but indifferently supplied, and provisions on the whole are scarce, dear, and of an inferior quality. The appearance of the country in the neighbourhood is extremely sterile and naked; scarcely any vegetables are to be seen, the sandy mountains rising almost abruptly from the water's edge. The climate is excessively hot, the access of cool air being precluded by surrounding mountains, and very little benefit is derived from the cut or opening made at the north end of the town, called la Ábra de San Nicolas, for the admission of the sea-breeze: the winter or wet season is so unhealthy, that few of the white inhabitants remain in the town, almost every one retires into the interior. A large battery stands on an elevation at the southern extremity of this place; it mounts thirty-one pieces of heavy artillery, and is called the fort of San Diego. It contains barracks, magazines, and dungeons, named the gaol, carcel. The town was formerly of commercial notoriety, on account of the vessels which arrived here, commonly from Manilla, called naos de la China; but as this traffic will now cease, and on account of the mountainous country lying On leaving Acapulco, the Independencia, Captain Wilkinson, and Auracano, Captain Simpson, were ordered to proceed to the bay of California, for the purpose of purchasing provisions for the vessels of war, and then to follow us to Guayaquil, Callao, and Valparaiso. On the night of the tenth we experienced a very severe gale in the bay of Tehuantepec, and owing to the bad state of the frigate, we expected she would go to pieces with every sea that struck her: our only consolation was, that the Valdivia being almost within hail we should be enabled to save our lives by taking to the boats, and going on board. In the morning the gale subsided, to our no small joy; but a signal of distress was made by the Valdivia, and afterwards a communication by telegraph, that a sea had struck her, and On the fifth of March we made the coast of Esmeraldas, and early on the morning of the seventh we came to an anchor in the port of Tacames or Atacames. After I had landed, my old subjects were both astonished and delighted; they had heard no tidings of me since the year 1812, and supposed me to be dead. The news that we obtained here was, that the Spanish general Crus Mourgeon arrived at this port from Panama, with a number of officers, and eight hundred men, on the twenty-fifth of December, and marched to join the forces at Quito; that immediately after he left Panama, which was on the twenty-eighth of November, the inhabitants rose, and declared their independence; and this they did although the two frigates Prueba and Vengansa had arrived after the departure of Crus Mourgeon; these two frigates, they told us, left the port of Tacames on the first of January, for Guayaquil The intelligence obtained here was, that the Prueba and Vengansa were several days at anchor off the island; that deputies had been sent from the city to negotiate with the two captains Don Jose Villegas of the Prueba, and Don Jose Joaquin Soroa of the Vengansa; that on the twenty-third of February the Vengansa and sloop of war Alexander had proceeded up the river to Guayaquil, and on the twenty-fifth the Prueba had left the river for the port of Callao. On receiving this advice his lordship stood up the river with the following tide, and came to an anchor off the city on the morning of the thirteenth, where we found the Vengansa bearing the Peruvian flag. Lord Cochrane was directly informed, that the captains Villegas and Soroa had negotiated the surrender of the Spanish frigates Prueba and Vengansa with the commissioners appointed by Don Francisco Salasar, the Peruvian envoy at Guayaquil; which treaty was ratified by the respective parties on the fifteenth and sixteenth of February last, the principal condition being, that the whole of the officers This act created great confusion in the city, the gunboats were immediately manned, and pieces of cannon were brought down to the side of the river, where the people employed themselves in placing logs of wood to serve as a breastwork; the Spanish sailors appeared to take a more than active part in resenting this insult offered to the vessel, which a few days previously they had cowardly sold to their enemies, through the fear of having to defend her while under the Spanish flag; indeed every thing on shore bore the most hostile appearance; while on board the O'Higgins and Valdivia no preparations whatever were made, the Admiral being too busy in smiling at their warlike preparations and mock means of defence. On the night of the seventeenth the courage of our self-constituted enemies was put to the test. With the return tide the Valdivia drifted up the river near to where the Spanish officers and seamen had anchored the gunboats, which the government had allowed them to manage, as being more acquainted with naval tactics; but these heroes, supposing that the frigate was about to attack them, ran the boats on shore, After some correspondence between the government and the admiral, it was agreed on the nineteenth, that deputies from both parties should meet ashore, and adjust such terms as should be most conducive to the public tranquillity, and to the honour and welfare of all parties. Accordingly, the government appointed the captain of the port, Don Manuel Lusuriaga, Dr. Don BernabÉ Cornejo, and Captain Indaburu. Lord Cochrane appointed Captain Crosbie, Captain Cobbett, and myself. Having met at the cavildo, the following articles were agreed to, and immediately ratified by Olmedo, Ximena, and Roca (forming the junta of government) and Lord Cochrane. "First.—The frigate Vengansa shall remain as belonging to the government of Guayaquil; she shall hoist the flag of this state, which shall be saluted by the Chilean. "Second.—The state of Guayaquil guarantees to the Chilean squadron under the responsibility of forty thousand dollars, that the frigate Vengansa shall not be delivered to, nor "Third.—The corvette Alexander shall be delivered to her owners, or their assigns, according to the right which they possessed before she was taken by violence from this river. The owners are to pay the arrears due to the crew from the date of their last leaving Panama to that of the fifteenth of February, 1822, with all the other expenses which may have been incurred; and, in the mean time, she shall not be employed in any way whatever without the consent of her owners. "Fourth.—Any government whatever which henceforward may be established in Guayaquil shall be bound to the fulfilment of the articles here expressed. "Fifth.—These articles, herein written and agreed to, shall be understood literally, in good faith, and without any mental amplifications or restrictions. Guayaquil, &c." After the ratification of these articles, the government of Guayaquil addressed a polite On the twentieth the Guayaquil flag was hoisted on board the Vengansa by Captain Lusuriaga and Captain Crosbie, to whom the Peruvian and Chilean flags were delivered. The O'Higgins immediately saluted the flag with twenty-two guns, and the salute was returned from the guns placed on shore; and afterwards the gunboats hoisted the Chilean flag, and saluted it with twenty-two guns. It having been asserted in Peru, before Lord Cochrane left the bay of Callao in October, 1821, that he would supply the garrisons of the fortresses with provisions, on condition that they would not surrender to San Martin, his lordship availed himself of the present opportunity with General la Mar, who was the governor of Callao, and who being now at Guayaquil, to write to him through the hands of the government, requesting him to answer, whether he To this La Mar answered: "Most Excellent Sir,—In consequence of the official note which I yesterday received from your excellency, through the hands of the government, it is my duty to assert, that I have neither said nor written, nor ever heard that you did supply or propose to supply with provisions the place of Callao during the whole of the time that it was under my charge. God preserve your excellency many years. (Signed) Jose de la Mar. Guayaquil, March 13th, 1822." On the twenty-first we weighed, his lordship giving orders to Captain Crosbie to trip the anchor, and to kedge down the river, by which means he would have a better opportunity to mark the channel, and form a plan of it, should it ever become necessary to ascend it without the assistance of a pilot. The second tide took us to the PunÁ, where we remained till the twenty-fifth, the boats being employed in bringing water and some provisions from Balao, on the opposite side of the river. Having left Guayaquil river on the twenty-fifth of March, we arrived on the twelfth of Exasperated at this conduct, his lordship proceeded to Callao, but not before he had convinced the alcalde, that he had not the power to enforce such orders from his master. We arrived at Callao on the twenty-fifth, where the first object of instability in the new government which we observed was five different Peruvian flags flying in the bay and on the batteries. We here found the Prueba under Peruvian colours, and commanded by one of the captains who had deserted the Chilean squadron; but such was the dread that Lord Cochrane would take possession of her, that she was immediately hauled close in shore under the batteries, her guns housed, her ports closed, and so crammed she was with soldiers, for her defence, that three men died with suffocation the night after our arrival. I was assured, that no less than two |