The cargo being landed and disposed of, the silver and the goods
intended for Manila are taken on board, together with provisions and
water, and the ship prepares to put to sea with the utmost expedition.
There is indeed no time to be lost, for it is an express order to the
captain to be out of the port of Acapulco on his return before the first
day of April, New Style.
And having mentioned the goods intended for Manila, I must observe that
the principal return is always made in silver, and consequently the rest
of the cargo is but of little account; the other articles, besides the
silver, being some cochineal and a few sweetmeats, the produce of the
American settlements, together with European millinery ware for the women
at Manila, and some Spanish wines. And this difference in the cargo of
the ship to and from Manila occasions a very remarkable variety in the
manner of equipping the ship for these two different voyages. For the
galleon, when she sets sail from Manila, being deep laden with a variety
of bulky goods, has not the conveniency of mounting her lower tier of
guns, but carries them in her hold till she draws near Cape St. Lucas and
is apprehensive of an enemy. Her hands, too, are as few as is consistent
with the safety of the ship, that she may be less pestered with the
stowage of provisions. But on her return from Acapulco, as her cargo lies
in less room, her lower tier is, or ought to be, always mounted before
she leaves the port, and her crew is augmented with a supply of sailors
and with one or two companies of foot, which are intended to reinforce
the garrison at Manila.
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