The large bay lay about us, nearly smooth, as there was hardly a
breath of wind stirring, though the boat's crew who went ashore told
us that the long ground swell broke into a heavy surf on the beach.
There was only one vessel in the port- a long, sharp brig of about 300
tons, with raking masts and very square yards, and English colors at
her peak. We afterwards learned that she was built at Guayaquil, and
named the Ayacucho, after the place where the battle was fought that
gave Peru her independence, and was now owned by a Scotchman named
Wilson, who commanded her, and was engaged in the trade between
Callao, the Sandwich Islands, and California. She was a fast sailer,
as we frequently afterwards perceived, and had a crew of Sandwich
Islanders on board. Beside this vessel there was no object to break
the surface of the bay. Two points ran out as the horns of the
crescent, one of which- the one to the westward- was low and sandy,
and is that to which vessels are obliged to give a wide berth when
running out for a southeaster; the other is high, bold, and well
wooded, and, we were told, has a mission upon it, called St.
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