Page:The History of San Martin (1893).djvu/151

Rh by Buchardo, which three vessels were brigs; and the armed quetch Uribe, named after its commander, a Chilian, who had been a colleague of Carrera in the late revolution. The crews of the two first were almost entirely English. The Halcon had a mixed crew of Chilians and Argentines, and her marines were commanded by Ramon Freyre. The crew of the quetch were all Chilians, and she carried a black flag as a sign of no quarter. It was stipulated that any prizes they might make should be sold in Buenos Ayres, one-ninth the prize money to go to Government, two-ninths to the Commodore, and the rest was to be divided among the officers and crews.

San Martin took care to inform Marcó of this expedition by means of his secret agents, and at the same time spread through Chile a rumour that an army from 4,000 to 7,000 men was assembled in Mendoza for the passage of the Andes. Marcó, terrified at the idea of being attacked both by land and sea, issued the most injudicious orders to his subordinates, scattered his forces, and applied to the Viceroy for naval support.

The Hercules and the Trinidad, in the attempt to double Cape Horn, were driven into the Straits of Magellan by a tempest, where they both received serious injury from sunken rocks, but, being repaired, reached the barren island of Mocha in the Southern Sea, where they were joined by the Halcon. The quetch was wrecked, the captain and master being drowned. Brown with his two ships, and Buchardo with his one, then sailed by different courses to Callao, where they reunited to blockade the port, and captured two large prizes, one of which, the Consequencia was armed and added to the squadron. On the 21st January, 1816, they sailed boldly into the harbour, and forced the Spanish ships to take refuge under the guns of the batteries.

On the night of the 22nd the gallant Commodore attacked the Royalist flotilla with five armed boats, but was beaten off with a loss of thirty killed and wounded. After