Point Bonita, "The Lighthouse at the Golden Gate." Point Bonita By Ina Coolbrith The wind blows cold and the wind blows keen, The ocean voice is calling. Calls with a sound that the sailor fears; And the bent boughs shiver in fringe of tears But over the path throu' the Golden Door, Bonita's Light from its rocky shore, Shines out to the ships at sea. The Manila Ship and the Old Plate N Fleet By Alfred J. Morrison O WORK of the kind was ever and Massachusetts still the red no more read than Anson's "Voyage Round the World" (17401744.) The writing was done by Benjamin Robins, the celebrated expert on gunnery, who, by taking pains with the narrative, was able to transform an interesting log book into a classic of cool adventure and political and commercial philosophy. Turn to Chapter Ten of Anson's Voyage, and peruse there the "Account of the commerce carried on between the city of Manila in the Island of Luconia and the port of Acapulco on the coast of Mexico." The chapter, for one thing, affords an example of the good English of the eighteenth century, which, instead of lowering the reader by coming down to him, could bring him up by a careful style, and at the same time amuse him without stint. How changed our methods! Perhaps of composition here or there, certainly of commerce to the East from the West coast of America. Magellan found the Philippines for the Spaniards, but it was not until Philip II had been some ten years in power that a small colony from New Spain (Mexico, that is) was sent over to the island of Luzon. Before that time there had been trade to the Philippines from the coast of Peru, but in 1565 the Manila staple was fixed at Acapulco, the best harbor of Mexico. on the South Sea-Hakluyto, Englishman, writing from Mexico a few years later, makes the date precise. And so, long before the barbarous North was grown in any way European (Virginia mad's land), there was an organized commerce between Acapulco, port of the sea-sky Aztecs, and Manila, city of the East and West-whence came by the annual ship all the treasures of the Asiatic Indies, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other precious stones, the rich carpets of Persia, the camphire of Borneo, the benjamin and ivory of Pegu and Cambodia, the silks, muslins and calicoes of the Mogul's country, the gold-dust, tea, china ware, silk and cabinets of China and Japan, besides cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmegs and pepper, desired articles of the Spice Islands. So In respect of its trade, Acapulco was the Alexandria of the West. well supplied were the traders at Acapulco that not seldom the Cadiz fleet to Vera Cruz found the market stocked already. For it is matter of surprise that for long years the high protectionists of Spain let go undisturbed this free trade (so to speak) from Mexico to the East. As if the Philippines, by virtue of colonization, were an appanage of New, rather than of Old Spain. In reality this trade, if free from the monopoly of Cadiz, was itself most strictly a monopoly. Government ships supplied it, Peruvian vessels were enjoined from it by rigorous edict, and at Manila a religious. order was granted the privilege of farming out the trade very largely. Whatever the regulations, such a commerce was of great advantagement to Mexico in the very old times, and that commerce may be regarded as one chief cause of the elegance and splendor long conspicuous in New Spain. It was Lord Anson's object, more or less, to make prize of the Manila ship when he set forth on his voyage to the South Seas in 1740. He accomplished his purpose, not as at first attempted off Acapulco, but near Manila. It was the galleon from Acapulco that fell into his hands, laden, as was the custom, mainly with silver-1,313,843 pieces of eight, and 35,682 ounces of virgin silver, in all near two millions of dollars, not reckoning the merchandise. It was customary, that is to say for the galleon from Manila, to bring merchandise to Acapulco, and to take out thence little but silver for the East. For centuries the East cared little but for specie from abroad. Acapulco itself was a mean and illbuilt town, the houses slightly constructed for fear of the recurrent tremblings of the earth. Besides, the climate was unwholesome and very prejudicial to strangers. But upon the arrival of the galleons, the town was populous and gay, crowded with the richest merchants of Mexico, Peru and even of Chile, who provided themselves with tents and formed a kind of large encampment. They have no rain at Acapulco from the end of November to the end of May, and the galleons were timed to set sail from Manila about July, to reach Acapulco in the December, January or February following. Their cargoes disposed of, they returned for Manila some time in March ("in all March," to use the language of the time), and arrived there generally in June. There was naturally, in the season, a great traffic by land from Acapulco to the City of Mexico, mules and packhorses taking up the goods brought from the East, what was not kept in the country being forwarded to Vera Cruz on the North Sea, for shipment by the Flota to Spain. As early at 1501, Seville, ancient town and famous snuff market, was granted the exclusive right of Spanish trade to America. Within a few years after the discovery of the Potosi mines in 1545, there were sailing annually from Seville two fleets for the West-one, the Flota destined for Vera Cruz; the other the Galleons to touch at Carthagena and Porto Bello. These fleets made sail together as far as the Antilles on the outward voyage, and returning rendezvoused at Havana. For two hundred and twenty years Seville was in this manner the gateway to the West for Spain. This monopoly of Seville was in 1720 transferred to Cadiz, but the great days of the fleet trade were then well past. Register, or license ships, to go out as occasion should demand, had even then come into use, and by the middle of the eighteenth century there was no plate fleet of galleons, and no flota for Vera Cruz. Smuggling, it may be added, had for generations been a fine art. First from Seville and then from Cadiz, Spain sent out to America, by the Flota and the Galleons, great part of what the Americans must have to maintain their cost of living. To Vera Cruz came the Flota, that port being the natural center of the American treasure, and the magazine of all the merchandise of New Spain, or of that transported hither from Europe. Vera Cruz, besides, was the depository of a prodigious quantity of East India goods brought overland from Acapulco. Upon the yearly arrival of the Flota a fair was opened at Vera Cruz, which lasted many weeks. But of all the Spanish fairs, that at Porto Bello-Bel Haven of the plate fleet-was the greatest in its business and its pageantry. The Galleons, touching first at Carthagena of Colombia, supplied from thence the trade of that shoulder of South America. When advice was received at Carthagena that the Peru fleet had unloaded at Panama, the Galleons set sail for Porto Bello-across the Isthmus from Panama. As soon as the ships were moored in the harbor, the seamen erected in the square a large tent of |