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