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would have been considered as absolutelyinsurmountablc; but, by the handful of famishing tars, they were viewed in no such light. Tho crew of tho Minerva did not enter into their calculation at all; for, once on board, with cutlass in hand, they would speedily be overcome; and the fort, though strong enough to blow them out of the water in five minutcs, would not surely (so they reasoned among themselves) bo so regardless of Spanish life and Spanish property, as to sink the Minerva in order to destroy a few impcrtinent maurauders already on board of her. The formidable guard of soldiers could not however, bc so conveniently disposed of. To attempt a fair stand up fight with a force numerically so far superior, would be to court certain destruction. It thereforo appeared to them that the only means by which the difficulty might, by possibility, be obviated, was to board tho vessel by surprisc at midnight, and to securc her hatches—a plan sufficiently simple in itself, and effectual too, provided it could be promptly accomplished. A council of war, consisting of all hands, having becn hcld, the schcmo underwent solcmn, but by no means deliberate discussion, and was pronounccd quite practicable!! This point finally scttlcd to evcry onc’s cntire satisfaction, and encning coming on, they stolc out from among tho rocks wherc they had been concealed during the day, and hovc warly down towards the mouth of tho semicircular bay, in the innermost verge of which stands the beautiful town of Arica. Before daybreak they again betook themsclves to a hiding place, close on shore, somc eight or ten miles distant from Arica; and, ere the sun had been an hour above tho horizon, each in his turn had slipcd out in tho Indian’s canoe to cnjoy a stolen peep at the
