THE FLORIDA

Many of the vessels which formed the Spanish Armada, inten ded for the conquest of England, perished on the north and west coasts of Scotland. The ship Florida appeared to have been more fortunate than any of her consorts; she found her way to the bay of Tobermory, on the sound of Mull, one of the finest harbors in the world. Scotland being then a neutral country under James the Sixth, of that name, the Spaniards considered themselves perfectly secure, and remained long in that station, repairing the damages they had sustained, and refreshing the crew and troops.

The Florida was, no doubt, an object of great interest and curiosity in that remote situation, and all the principal families in the neighboring country and islands were received on board as visiters, where, tradition says, they were hospitably and splendidly entertained. Elizabeth, the ever watchful and well-informed Queen of England, had intelligence of the Florida through her ambassador at the Scotch court, and it was ascertained that this ship was extremely valuable: she had on board a large sum of money intended for the pay of the army; she contained besides, a great quantity of costly stores. The law of nations should have protected the Florida from injury; but Elizabeth resolved on her destruction; and it was accompanied by one of the most atrocious acts, perhaps, ever recorded of any civilized government. The English ambassador soon found an instrument suited to his purpose, and his name was Smollet. We regret to state, that he was an ancestor of the celebrated writer of that name, who himself alludes to this circumstance in one of his novels, apparently unconscious of the inference which followed. This agent of the English Queen spoke the Gaelic language, and wore the Highland dress. He went to Mull as a dealer in cattle, and easily found his way on board the Florida, where he formed an intimacy, and, along with other strangers, had frequent opportunities of seeing every part of the ship. He at length found a convenient time for his diabolical object, and placed some combustible substance in a situation where it was likely to produce the desired effect. He immediately got ashore, and made the best of his way southward.

He had travelled to a distance of six or eight miles, when he heard the explosion of the Florida; and the spot where he stood is still marked for the execration of mankind. The ship was blown up, and nearly all on board perished. Together with the crew and troops, many of the first men in the country were destroyed by this perfidious and bloody act, which reflects eternal

disgrace on the planners, and infamy on the perpetrator. Tradi tion states, that the poop of the ship was blown to a great distance, with six men, whose lives were saved.

Some Spanish mares and horses had been landed, to pasture, and these remained in the island of Mull. The breed of horses in Mull has ever since been superior, and it still continues so, probably from this cause.

The English ambassador at Madrid having procured information of the precise amount of the treasure which had been on board the Florida, a ship of war was sent by the English Government to Tobermory in the beginning of the eighteenth century with divers, for the purpose of recovering the specie. The wreck was soon found, and many articles were raised, but no money was acknowledged. The ship, however, never returned to England, and it was suspected that she had taken refuge in France, for evident reasons.

In the year 1787, the celebrated diver, Spalding, made an attempt to recover this treasure, but he failed entirely as might have been expected, the remains of the ship having sunk into the clay, and totally disappeared.

COMMODORE ANSON.

The expedition under Commodore Anson was fitted out by the English government in the year 1740, to attack the Spanish settlements in America. The squadron consisted of six vessels of war and two victuallers.

These were the
Commanders.

Ships.

Centurion

George Anson

Gloucester

Dandy Kidd

28

160

John Murray

8

100

Wager Trial Sloop On the 18th of September, seventeen hundred and forty, the squadron weighed from St. Helens, and reached Maderia the 25th of October. Having sailed hence, they discovered the land of Brazil, on the 16th of December, and on the evening of the 19th cast anchor at the island of St Catharine's. Having repaired their vessels, they quitted this place on the 18th of January, and on the same day of the following month came to anchor in the bay of St. Julian. The squadron again stood to sea on the 28th of February, when the Gloucester not being able to purchase her anchor, was obliged to cut her cable, and leave her best bower

behind. Having reached the southern extremity of the straits Le Maire, the wind shifted and blew in violent squalls, and the tide turned furiously against them, driving to the eastward with such rapidity, that the two sternmost vessels, the Wager, and the Anna Pink, with the utmost difficulty escaped being dashed in pieces on the shore of Staten Island.

For above three months, they struggled with severe gales and terrific waves, and on the 1st of April, the weather, after having been a little more moderate, returned to its brmer violence; the sky looked dark and gloomy, and the wind began to freshen and blow in squalls; and there were all the appearances of an approaching tempest. Accordingly, on the 3d, there came on a storm, which exceeded in violence and duration all they had hitherto encountered. On the 14th, in the morning, the weather clearing up a little and the moon shining out on a sudden, the Anna Pink made a signal for seeing land right a-head; and it being then only two miles distant, they were under great apprehensions of running on shore; and had not the wind suddenly shifted, or the moon shone out, every ship must have perished. They found this land, to their disappointment, to be Cape Noir, though they imagined they were ten degrees more to the west. On the evening of the 24th of April, the wind increased to a prodigious storm, and, about midnight, the weather became so thick that the whole squadron separated, nor met again till they reached the island of Juan Fernandez. To add to their misfortunes, the scurvy began to make such havoc, that on board the Centurion only, it carried off forty-three men in the month of April, and twice that number in May.

On the 22d of May the Centurion encountered the severest storm it had yet experienced. Almost all the sails were split; the rigging was destroyed, and a mountainous wave breaking over them on the starboard quarter, gave the vessel such a shock, that seve ral of the shrouds were broke, and the ballast and stores so strangely shifted, that she lay on her larboard side. The wind at length abating a little, they began to exert themselves to stirrup the shrouds, reeve new lanyards, and mend the sails; during which they ran great risk of being driven on the island of Chiloe. After many difficulties they at length reached the island of Juan Fernandez, in a most desponding condition. Here many of the crew died of weariness and disease.

A few days after the Centurion had arrived, the Trial sloop appeared in sight, and on the 21st of June the Gloucester was discovered to leeward. The Anna Pink arrived about the middle of August, which, with the Trial and Gloucester, mentioned above, were the only vessels that ever joined the squadron; for the Severn and Pearl, having parted from the commodore off Cape Horn, with difficulty reached Brazil, whence they made the best f their way back to Europe; while the Wager was wrecked on the

coast. The Anna Pink being judged unfit for service, was taken for the use of the squadron, and her men were sent on board the Gloucester.

About eleven in the morning of the 8th of September, they discovered a sail; when the Centurion, being in the greatest forwardness, made after her as fast as possible. Night coming or they lost sight of the chase., About three in the morning of the 12th, a brisk gale springing up at W. S. W. obliged them to li upon a N. W. tack, which, at break of day, brought them within. sight of a sail, at about five leagues distant. She appeared to be a large vessel, and upon hoisting Spanish colors, and bearing towards the Centurion, the commodore ordered every thing ready for an engagement; but upon coming nearer, she appeared to be a merchantman, without a single tier of guns, and had mistaken the Centurion for her consort. She soon surrendered, and was found to be a valuable prize.

It appearing from letters on board the prize, that several other merchantmen were at sea, between Callao and Valparaiso, the commodore sent the Trial sloop, to cruise off the latter port; and ordered the Gloucester to cruise off the island of Paita, till she should be joined by the Centurion. The Centurion and her prize weighing from the bay of Juan Fernandez, on the 19th of September, took her course to the eastward, proposing to join the Trial off Valparaiso.

On the 24th, in the evening, they came up with the latter, having taken a prize of six hundred tons burden, laden with a rich cargo. On the 27th, the captain of the Trial came on board the Centurion, bringing with him an instrument, subscribed by himself and all his officers, setting forth that the vessel was so leaky and defective, that it was at the hazard of their lives they staid on board; upon which, the commodore having ordered the crew and every thing of value to be put on board the prize, the Trial was scuttled and sunk. It was now resolved to join the Gloucester off Paita. With this view they stood to the northward, and, on the 10th of November discovered a sail, which Lieutenant Brett was ordered to chase, with the Trial's pinnace and barge. They found her to be a Spanish vessel of two hundred and seventy tons burden. From the prisoners they learned that, a few days before, a vessel had entered Paita, the master of which told the governer he had been chased by a very large ship, which he imagined to be one of the English squadron, and that the governor had immediately sent an express to Lima, to carry the news to the viceroy, while the royal officer residing at Paita had been busily employed in removing both the king's treasure and his own to Piuza, a town fourteen leagues within land. It was at once conjectured that the ship which had chased the vessel into Paita was the Gloucester; and, as they were now discovered, and the coast would soon be alarmed, so as to prevent cruizing to any

advantage, the commodore resolved to endeavor to surprise the place that very night.

When the ships were within five leagues of Paita, about ten o'clock at night, Lieutenant Brett, with the boats under his command, put off, and arrived without being discovered, at the mouth of the bay; though he had no sooner entered it, than some of the people on board a vessel riding at anchor there, perceived him, and immediately getting into their boat, rowed towards the shore, crying out the English, the English dogs,' &c. by which the town was alarmed and the attack disovered. The town was, however, taken in less than a quarter of an hour from the first landing of the boats; with the loss of one man killed and two wounded.

They weighed anchor from the coast of Paita on the 16th of November, the squadron being increased to six sail by the prizes. On the morning of the 18th, they discovered the Gloucester with a small vessel in tow, which joined them about three in the afternoon, when they learned that captain Mitchell had taken two prizes, one of which had a cargo consisting of wine, brandy and olives, and about seven thousand pounds in specie; and the other was a launch, the people on board which, when taken, were eating their dinner from silver dishes. Notwithstanding this circum stance, the prisoners alleged that they were very poor: having nothing on board, but cotton made up in jars, which, being removed on board the Gloucester, were examined, when the whole appeared to be an extraordinary piece of false package; there being concealed among the cotton, doubloons and dollars, to the amouut of twelve thousand pounds.

The cargo and crews of the several vessels were afterwards divided between the Centurion and Gloucester. Quitting the coast of America, they stood for China, the 6th of May, 1742. The Gloucester, which had become decayed, was cleared of every thing by the 15th of August, and then set on fire. On the 27th they arrived at the island of Tinian, where they remained some time. On the night of the 22d of September, when it was excessively dark, the wind blew from the eastward with such fury, that those on board despaired of riding out the storm. At this time Mr. Anson, was ill of the scurvy, and most of the hands were on shore, and all the hopes of safety of those on board seemed to depend on immediately putting to sea; all communication between the ship and the island being destroyed.

About one o'clock a strong gust, attended with rain and lightning, drove them to sea, where, being unprepared to struggle with the fury of the winds and waves, they expected each moment to be their last. When at day-break, it was perceived by those on shore that the ship was missing, they concluded her lost, and many of them begged the commodore to send the boat round the island to look for the wreck. In the midst of their gloomy reflec