Now began the most extraordinary part of the enterprise. Treasure ships were captured, thirty-eight men landed, held up and captured Payta, a good half of these attired in feminine costume, which they found in houses wherein they had sought substitutes for their rags--only one man drunk in all the sack of the town--the terror of prisoners, who, when released, refused to accept liberty till they had thanked Anson for his courtesy--Anson’s insistence on treasure being divided equally between those who attacked and those who kept ship, while giving his own share to the attackers--the night chase of a supposed galleon which turned out to be but a fire on shore--the fearful sufferings of boats’ crews sent out to look for the treasure ship[29]--the release of prisoners, and the Spanish reply thereto by the despatch of luxuries to the English--the final loss of the _Gloucester_, worn out by keeping the sea--the arrival at Guam of the _Centurion_ with only seventy-one men capable of “standing at a gun” under even any emergencies--these things belong to special histories. Here it suffices to give but a general outline, of which the first event is that having reached Macao and refitted, Anson went into the Pacific again, and, having given his men considerable training in marksmanship and gun-handling, finally intercepted and captured the Spanish treasure ship that he sought. On his subsequent return to China with his prize, the experiences of “Mr. Anson” (as he is generally called throughout the history from which I quote) were mainly of a personal nature. Visited by a mandarin who showed a liking for wine, Anson had to plead illness and delegate his duties of glass for glass to the most robust officer he had. He provisioned by weight with ducks (found to be filled with stones to make them heavier) and pigs filled with water. Ultimately he had to go up to Canton with (so far as I can ascertain) the first instance of a crew in regular uniform. To quote from the entertaining contemporary narrative:-- “Towards the end of September, the commodore finding that he was deceived by those who had contracted to supply him with sea provisions; and that the viceroy had not, according to his promise, invited him to an interview, found it impossible to surmount the difficulty he was under, without going to Canton and visiting the viceroy. He, therefore, prepared for this expedition: the boat’s crew were clothed, in a uniform dress, resembling that of the water-men of the Thames. There were in number eighteen, and a coxswain; they had scarlet jackets, and blue silk waistcoats, the whole trimmed with silver buttons, and had also silver badges on their jackets and caps.” Leaving Macao, the _Centurion_ reached the Cape of Good Hope on the 11th of March, 1744. From here, signing on forty Dutchmen, Anson proceeded home.