up the fleet, of which in reality Jerom de Zurbano had more the command
than he, as all the soldiers and sailors who were attached to the
deposed viceroy were at his disposal; but Zurbano, to whom the judges
made great offers, was quite inflexible. The captains of the fleet came
even to the resolution of quitting the port of Lima, to cruise upon the
coast of Peru, till such time as they might receive orders from his
majesty how to conduct themselves in the present crisis. They believed
that the viceroy had many friends and adherents in Lima and other parts
of Peru; as many persons who had not taken any share in the deposition
and imprisonment of the viceroy, and several of those who were best
disposed to the royal service continued almost daily to make their
escape on board the fleet. The ships were tolerably well armed and
appointed, having ten or twelve iron cannon, and three or four of brass,
besides forty quintals of powder. As to provisions, they had above four
hundred quintals of biscuit, five hundred bags of maize, and a large
store of salt meat; so that they were victualled sufficiently for a
considerable time, and they could easily procure water on any part of
the coast. Their force however was very small, as they had only twenty
five soldiers, and by no means a sufficient number of mariners for the
ten ships which composed their fleet. They resolved therefore to abandon
four of the smallest vessels, which they were unable to man; and not
thinking it right to leave these behind, lest they might have been
employed against themselves by the partizans of the judges, they set
these small vessels on fire the day after the imprisonment of the
viceroy, as likewise two fishing barks which were in the harbour, and
then set sail. The four small ships were entirely destroyed, but the two
fishing vessels were saved after sustaining very little damage.

The fleet went into the harbour of Guavra, which is eighteen leagues
_below_[3] the port of Lima, where they took in a supply of wood and