Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 54 CHAPTER V. THE EXPEDITIONS TO DARIEN. FIRST EXPEDITION. Owing to mismanagement in the preparations and want of funds, it was not until two years after the Company's subscription books at Edinburgh and Glasgow had been closed that the first expedition to Darien was ready to sail from Leith Roads. The Company's fleet consisted of five vessels:— The St Andrew—(Commodore) Captain Robert Pennicuik. The Unicorn—Captain Robert Pinkerton. The Caledonia—Captain Robert Drum- mond. Carrying from 46 to 70 guns apiece. The Endeavawr (Pink), f, Advice yachts or tenders The DofoMn (Snow). 1 laden. Wlth Prov1S10ns, ? ' v ' (tary stores, and merchandise. 1 " St Andrew, our first Tutelar was he, The Unicorn must next supporter be, The Caledonia doth bring up the rear Fraught with brave hardy lads devoid of fear; All splendidly equipt, and to the three The Endeavour and the Dolphin, handmaids be." —" Caledonia Triumphans." CO EXPEDITIONS TO DARIEN : FIRST EXPEDITION. 55 Sir John Dalrymple's lively and time-honoured description of the embarkation, as the ships got under way, is well known :— " On the 26th 1 of July, of the year 1698, the whole city of Edinburgh poured down upon Leith to see the Colony depart, amidst the tears and prayers and praises of relations and friends, and of their countrymen. Many seamen and soldiers whose services had been refused, because more had offered themselves than were needed, were found hid in the ships, and, when ordered ashore, clung to the ropes and timbers, imploring to go, without reward, with their companions. Twelve hundred men sailed in five stout ships." Besides those who assembled on the pier of Leith to give the emigrants a hearty send-off, a crowd of interested spectators lined the Castle- hil... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.