Galapagos Islands  Contents  Source  Whalesite

      I have not pressed my Journal on you; it has been extorted from me; and if it should not meet your expectation as to style, I hope facts will amply compensate you for your disappointment. If you admit this only, I will follow the practice of other navigators, and endeavour to find some friend who shall so ornament it for a second edition, as to put all cause of complaint out of the question

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PORTER'S JOURNAL.

CHAPTER I.

PASSAGE FROM THE DELAWARE TO THE CAPE DE VERD ISLANDS, AND FROM THENCE TO CAPE FRIO; WITH NAUTICAL REMARKS.

      October 6th, 1812. I RECEIVED orders from commodore William Bainbridge to prepare the Essex for a long cruize, and on the day following received his final instructions, appointing places of rendezvous, and the next day a copy of his orders from the honourable secretary of the navy.

      I consequently directed the ship to be furnished with every requisite supply of stores, &c. &c.; ordered for her a new suit of sails and standing rigging; took out the bowsprit and fished it; and put her in the best possible state for service; taking in as much provision as she could stow, and providing ourselves with a double supply of clothing, and fruit, vegetables, and lime juice as antiscorbutics; and gave the officers and men intimation of the probable length of our cruize, in order that they should supply themselves with such comforts as their means would admit of, they having recently been paid a proportion of the prize-money for the last cruize, and advanced the officers three months pay, They accordingly furnished themselves with stock, vegetables. and other stores, in as large quantities as could be stowed away; and on the afternoon of the 28th we left the capes of the Delaware^*, with the wind from the northward, which gradually hauled

around to the westward, blowing fresh, with thick weather, and it was with difficulty we were enabled to weather the dangerous shoals of Chincoteague. On the morning of the 29th, the wind hauled around to the westward, and increased to a gale. Got the ship under snug sail, and secured our masts, by setting up the rigging, which, being new, had stretched considerably. The ship being very deep, we found her unusually laboursome and uncomfortable: her straining, occasioned by her deep rolling, opened her water-ways, and kept the birth-deck full of water, damaged a great deal of our provisions stowed on it, and wet all the bedding and clothes of the crew; found also the coal-hole full of water; found a leak somewhere between the cut-water and stem, but in other respects found the ship tight; for, after scuttling the birth-deck and bulk-head of the coal-hole, found we could easily keep her free by pumping a few minutes every two hours.

      Previous to leaving the river, the crew had been put on allowance of half a gallon of water each man per day and being desirous of making our provisions hold out as long as possible, having views, at the same time, with regard to the health of the crew, I caused the allowance of bread to be reduced one half, and issued in lieu of the remainder half a pound of potatoes, or the same quantity of apples. Every other article of provisions was reduced one third, excepting rum, of which the full allowance was served out raw to the cook of each mess (the crew being divided into messes of eight, and a cook being allowed to each), who were accountable for the faithful distribution of it. For the undrawn provisions the purser's steward was directed to issue due-bills, with assurances on my part that they should be paid the amount on our arrival in port. Orders were given to lose no opportunity of catching rain-water for the stock, of which we had a large quantity on board, every mess in the ship being supplied with pigs and poultry. The allowance of candles was reduced one half, and economy established respecting the consumption of wood and the expenditure of the ship's stores. Habits of cleanliness and care with respect to clothing were strongly recommended to the officers and crew. I now gave a general pardon for all offences committed on board; recommended the strictest atten-

tion to the discipline of the ship; held out prospects of reward to those who should be vigilant in the performance of their duty; and gave assurances that the first man I should feel myself under the necessity of punishing should receive three dozen lashes, expressing, however, a hope that punishment during the cruize would be altogether unnecessary. I directed, as a standing regulation, that the ship should be fumigated in every part every morning, by pouring vinegar on a red-hot shot, and confided to lieutenant Finch the superintendance of the birth-deck, in order to preserve it in a cleanly and wholesome state. Lime being provided in tight casks, for the purpose of white-washing, and sand for dry-rubbing it, and orders given not to wet it if there should be a possibility of avoiding it, a comfortable place was fitted up for the accommodation of the sick on the birth-deck; cleats were put up for the slinging as many hammocks as possible on the gun-deck; and orders given that no wet clothes or wet provisions should be permitted to remain on the birth-deck, or that the crew should be permitted to eat any where but on the gun-deck, except in bad weather. Having established the above and other regulations, as regarded the health and comfort of the crew, I exhorted the officers to keep them occupied constantly during working hours, in some useful employment, and directed that between the hours of four and six o'clock in the afternoon, should be allowed to them for amusement, when the duties of the ship would admit.

      The 30th was devoted entirely to airing the bedding, drying the clothing of the crew that were wet during the gale, getting the birth-deck in the most comfortable state, exercising the crew at the great guns, and getting the ship in the best state for service. We found the powder in several of our guns wet, all of which we reloaded, and more carefully secured.

      Previous to leaving the Delaware, we landed at the hospital the following men, whose health I did not conceive would enable them to stand the fatigues of the cruize; and as they had most of them been a long time on the surgeon's list, and were considered incurable, I believed it advisable not to take them to sea; to wit, William Stanwood, quarter-gunner, John Francis, car-

penter's yeoman, Charles Frederick, Peter Johnson 2d, James Wallace, Charles Smith, John Smith, John Anderson, seamen, and William Hubbell, supernumerary. William Klaer, through mistake, was not sent.

      My crew, at the time of my departure, consisted of the following persons

No.	Names.	Rank
2.	John Downes	1st Lieutenant
3.	James P. Wilmer	2d      do.
4.	James Wilson	3d      do.
5.	William Finch	Acting 4th do
6.	Stephen D. M'Knight	Acting 5th do.
7,	John G. Cowell	Sailing-master
8.	Robert Miller	Surgeon
9.	David P. Adams	Chaplain
10.	John R. Shaw	Purser
11.	William H. Haddiway	Midshipman
12.	David G. Farragut	do.
13.	Richard Dashiell	do.
14.	John S. Cowan	do.
15.	Charles T. Clark	do.
16.	William H. Odenheimer	do.
17.	Henry W. Ogden	do.
18.	Henry Gray	do.
19.	George W. Isaacs	do.
20.	William W. Feltus	do.
21.	Thomas A. Conover	do.
22.	David Tittermary	do.
23.	Richard K. Hoffman	Acting Sur. mate
24.	Alexander M. Montgomery	do.
25.	Edward Linscott	Boatswain
26.	Lawrence Miller	Gunner
27.	John S. Waters	Carpenter
28.	David Navarro	Sail-maker
29.	W. W. Bostwick	Captain's clerk
30.	William P. Pierce	Master's mate

      The sick list, agreeable to the doctor's report of the 28th, was as follows;

      On the 2d of November, the weather began to grow more moderate, in consequence of which, we got up from below all our bread and vegetables that were stowed on the birth-deck, for the purpose of separating the damaged from the rest. Found about four barrels of bread entirely spoiled, and the same quantity of apples. All the barrels were wet; we therefore started the whole of them, dried the provisions, repacked and stowed.

them away to more advantage, securing them against further damage from leaks by covering them with tarpawlings; also, cut two scuttles in the birth-deck, to carry off such water as might enter by the leaks in the water-ways, stem, and down the hatchways; also, took advantage of the good weather to fleet and set up our main rigging, to render the masts more secure; unbent the foretop-sail, which was injured by chafing, and bent another.

      Having had favourable winds since our departure, we this day found ourselves in the latitude of 36° 7' N., longitude, by dead reckoning, 58° 54' west; but with a view of getting into a latitude where we might expect more moderate weather, as well as to cross the track of vessels bound from England to Bermudas, and those from the West Indies to Europe, stood to the southeast.

      On the morning of the 3d, a sail was discovered to the S.W.; made all sail in chase, and at 8 o'clock, discovered her to be a Portuguese merchant brig, bound to the westward; gave over chase, and stood on to the S.E. with light winds from the N. and variable; sent up our royal masts, and employed the crew in various useful jobs, the sick and cooks of the messes being occupied in picking oakum for caulking the waterways, which were found to he very open, in consequence of the oakum having washed out. Got up the marine clothing from the store-room to air, as some of it was found to be wet from the leak in the stem; the other store-rooms on examination proved to be dry. Also, employed the sail-makers in repairing the foretop-sail that was unbent, and gave directions to the officers to get their boats in the best state for service, (each lieutenant of the ship, as well as the sailing-master, having charge of one). Towards the latter part of the day, the wind hauled around from the eastward, and threatened rain. Rated Benjamin Wadden carpenter's yeoman. This day saw a bird that very much resem- [sic] a plover in appearance and note. Latitude, by observation, 35° 1' N.; longitude, by dead reckoning, 57° 9' W.; variation of the compass 4° westerly.

      The winds being light on the 4th, and the weather remarkably pleasant, got up our new suit of sails; bent the new

courses, top-gallant-sails, and royals, and fitted the top-sails for bending; employed the carpenters in caulking our water-ways, and the crew in various useful jobs.

      5th, lat. 33° 54' 20" N., long. 56° 14' W. by account, variation 5° westerly, the winds light and the weather fine, bent our new top-sail; kept the crew employed in various useful jobs.

      From the 5th to the 7th, nothing remarkable. The weather continuing fine, took advantage to get the ship in the best state for service.

      On the afternoon of the 8th, blowing fresh and very squally, discovered a sail to the E.N.E.; hauled up for her in chace; at 5 discovered her to be a ship, under her top-sails, and courses hauled up, bearing the appearance of a sloop of war. Being about 5 miles to windward of her, and a heavy squall coming on, took in top-gallant-sails, and two reefs in our top-sails, preparatory to getting the ship ready for action, and beat to quarters. On the squall clearing off, discovered the chace before the wind under a press of sail; made all sail in chace, but lost sight of her after dark, and at 8 o'clock gave over the pursuit and stood on our course. From various causes, I am induced to believe her to be the American sloop of war Wasp, commanded by captain Jacob Jones, who sailed from the Delaware a few days before us.

      The whole of the 9th, fresh gales and a heavy sea from the westward.

      On the 10th, ascertained our longitude by the distance between the sun and moon's centres to be 48° 30' 35" west; and on comparing it with our dead-reckoning, find a difference of 5 degrees; which arose from a mistake in the marking of our log-line, four knots being marked where three should have been.

      The 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th, the weather remarkably pleasant, the winds light and variable, inclinable to the eastward; nothing of any mportance [sic] took place during that period; find our sick list decreasing daily, the crew in general improving in their appearance and conduct, which in general has been extremely good; but while we lay in the Delaware, the ease of procuring rum on board had produced some little irregularities, which required a few days at sea to correct. I now divided the crew into three

watches, finding it sufficiently strong to admit of this arrangment, and took every advantage of the good weather to put the ship in prime order for any service.

      Our sick list on the 6th, as follows;

      William Klear, John Glasseau, Benj. Hamilton, Levy, Holmes [sic] Mark Antonio, Thomas Belcher, Thomas M'Donald, Jordan Williams; and of this number only two, to wit, William Klaer and Levy Holmes, were incapable of doing duty; the one from a disease in the liver, the other from intermitting head-ache.

      On the 17th, took the advantage of the calm weather to give our rigging a good setting up, and in the afternoon, discovered a sail to the W.S.W. Gave chace to and spoke her about 4 o'clock: she proved to be a Portuguese brig from the Brazils bound to Gibraltar, laden with tobacco; she had been on her passage 52 days, and the only news she could give us was that an embargo had been laid on American vessels in the Brazils on the news of the war.

      On the 20th, in latitude 29° 33' N. and longitude 31° 54' west, took the trade wind from the north-east, blowing fresh in squalls, with some rain, of which we only succeeded in catching about 60 gallons for the stock.

      22d, at day light in the morning, discovered a sail to windward, running down for us; and being nearly in the track of the homeward bound Indiamen and outward bound West Indiamen, we calculated largely on a prize, but on speaking her she proved (to our great disappointment) a Portuguese from Lisbon bound to New York, laden with salt.

      On the 23d, we were honoured by a visit from the gods of the ocean, accompanied by Amphitrite and a numerous retinue of imps, barbers, &c. &c. in his usual style of visiting, and in the course of the afternoon all the novices of the ship's company were initiated into his mysteries. Neptune, however, and most of his suite, paid their devotions so frequently to Bacchus, that before the ceremony of christening was half gone through, their godships were unable to stand; the business was therefore entrusted to the subordinate agents, who performed both the shaving and washing with as little regard to tenderness as his majesty would have done. On the whole, however, they got through the business with less disorder

and more good humour than I expected; and although some were most unmercifully scraped, the only satisfaction sought was that of shaving others in their turn with new invented tortures.

      24th spoke a Portuguese ship from Madeira bound to St. Bartholomews, the captain of which informed us, that an English frigate, bound to the Cape of Good Hope, had touched at Madeira, and brought intelligence of the war. As we were under English colours, I of course affected much surprise at the news, and questioned him accordingly.

      26th, at sunrise, discovered the island of St. Nicholas; shortly afterwards spoke a Portuguese brig bound to St. Anthony's; run down among the islands that day, and the next night passed in sight of the isles of Sal and Bonavista. The first is high, and may be known by a hill that appears in form like a sugar-loaf, on first making the island; the second has a ragged, irregular appearance.

      27th, in the morning, we were between the isles of Mayo and St. Jago. On the sides of the mountains of the latter we could perceive several villages and large flocks of goats, but the arid appearance of the soil scarcely left us the hope that it would afford us the refreshments we purposed stopping for, as no vegetable or tree of any description could be perceived by us but a few scattering cocoanut trees. The island had altogether the most dreary and uncultivated appearance, and I had partly determined in my own mind only to look into the road of Praya, to see if there should be any of our ships of war there, as this was the first rendezvous fixed on by commodore Bainbridge; and, should they not be there, to proceed on. At 2 P.M. rounded to the east point of Port Praya, and stretched into the harbour, showing the American colours, the Portuguese being displayed on a flashy flag-staff erected on a hill at one corner of the ruins of a fort, in the bottom of the bay; and in front of the town. Perceiving no vessels in the bay except a small Portuguese schooner, I hauled off, but being desirous of procuring some information respecting the commodore, as this was the day appointed by him to leave this place for Fernando de Narhona, I concluded on sending lieut. Downes on shore, with a person who could speak the Portuguese language; and as a pretext for so doing I di-

rected him to state to the governor that we were an American frigate wanting supplies, to request his permission to obtain them, to inform him I should fire a salute provided he would return gun for gun, and that I should, provided I anchored, take the earliest opportunity of making my respects to him. On the return of Mr. Downes, he informed me that the governor could not be seen, as he had gone to take his afternoon nap, but that the lietenant-governor [sic], or second in command, informed him we could obtain every supply we stood in need of that the salute should be returned gun for gun that the governor would be happy to see me on shore; expressed his astonishment that I should have asked permission to come in and concluded with all offer of his services in procuring the supplies we might want. Mr. Downes informed me that no government vessels of war had been at Praya; that the American privateer Yankey from Boston, and another privateer from Salem, and an armed British schooner, had been there not long since. I consequently concluded on stopping a few days, and during the time to fill up our water, and take in refreshments. I therefore ran in and anchored in seven fathoms water, clear sandy bottom, the flag-staff bearing N.N.W., and the east end of Quail Island west by compass. We fired the salute, which was punctually returned.

      At 9 o'clock on the morning of the 28th, I waited on his excellency, accompanied by some of the officers. He was engaged at the time on some business at the custom-house, as I was informed, and could not be seen until about 11; the second in command, however, major Medina (who spoke such English as he was enabled to pick up from the captains and crews of such American vessels as touched at the Isle of Mayo for salt, where he was governor), entertained us during the interval, making offers of his services in procuring the supplies, of which we gave him a list; and, after making the necessary arrangements, and fixing on the prices, we waited on the governor, whom we found at his house, dressed in all his splendor to receive us. His reception was of the most friendly nature; and I am persuaded he was much pleased to see us in the port. He appeared astonished that I should have sent in for permission to enter the port. I informed him, that as

the Portuguese were the allies of Great Britain, I had entertained doubts whether he would feel authorized to give us protection against a British force, should it appear; but so soon as he had granted permission for us to enter the port, those doubts were removed, He expressed much regret that the war had deprived them of the advantage arising from the American commerce, as they had been cut off from all their supplies, and were now destitute of bread, and every other comfort of life, except what the island afforded, which consisted chiefly in live stock and fruit. He told me that a little flour, or any thing else we could spare, would be most acceptable to him; and invited me to make my dinner with him, on such scanty fare as he was enabled to give me; adding, if I would come on shore next day, he would endeavour to provide something better. I accepted his invitation with as little ceremony as it was given; and although there was but little variety of meats, he had an abundant supply of the best tropical fruits I ever tasted. The oranges were very fine. We this day commenced watering; but, after having to roll the casks about 500 yards, found great difficulty in getting them from the beach, on account of the heavy surf.

      On the 29th, I again dined with the governor, and from that time until the morning of the 2d of December, we were occupied in getting on board refreshments and water; but of the latter we were only enabled to get about 5000 gallons. The beef was very dear, and very poor; a bullock weighing 300 weight, cost $5 dollars; sheep were three dollars, but very poor; oranges 40 cents per hundred, and other fruits in the same proportion, and in the greatest abundance. It is supposed that the ship had not on board less than one hundred thousand oranges, together with a large quantity of cocoa-nuts, plantains, lemons, limes, casada, &c. &c. Every mess on board were also supplied with pigs, sheep, fowls, turkeys, goats, &c. which were purchased very cheap; fowls at three dollars per dozen, and fine turkeys at one dollar each; many of the seamen also furnished themselves with monkeys and young goats as pets, and when we sailed from thence the ship bore no slight resemblance, as respected the different kind on board her, to Noah's ark.

      In the town of Praya there are not more than thirty whites; the

rest of the population is made up of slaves and free negroes, making altogether not more than three thousand, of whom about four hundred are soldiers; all the officers, except three or four, are mulattoes, and their priest is a negro, who possesses considerable polish in his manners. The soldiers are generally destitute of clothing from the waist upwards, and it can be asserted with a certainty of adhering strictly to the truth, that there are not five serviceable muskets in Praya. Most all of them are without any locks, their stocks broken off at the breech, their barrels tied into the stocks with a leather thong, or a cord made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut; and it was no uncommon thing to see a naked negro mounting guard, shouldering a musket barrel only. Their cavalry were in a corresponding style, mounted on jack-asses, and armed with broken swords.

      The governor informed me, it had been 10 years since they had received any pay, or supplies of clothing or arms.

      The guns of different calibres mounted about Praya, for the defence of the place, although in commanding situations, are in a state equally bad as the muskets of the negroes. They are placed on ship's carriages, which are old and rotten, scarcely holding together, without platform, shelter, or breast-work, except a slight dilapidated one before the saluting battery, and another in as bad a state on the west point of the bay. The whole number of guns amounts to thirty; and for them chiefly they are indebted to a Portuguese frigate that was lost by the negligence of her officers about three years since. Port Praya could he taken, and every gun spiked, by thirty men.

      An abundance of fish may be caught with the hook and line along side, and with the seine on the beach, where we hauled every morning during our stay; and one afternoon, at the particular request of the governor, when himself and the ladies of his family, as well as all the other white ladies of the town, consisting altogether of seven, besides the white and coloured officers, attended. We were not at that time so fortunate as we were afterwards; we however caught enough to afford them a mess, which I caused to be carried to their houses. A very good amusement may be had in the bay, by rowing with a small boat across the mouth, and towing

a line with a hook fastened on with wire, and baited with small fish, for the purpose of catching baracouters. The best time is in the dusk of the evening, and at day-light in the morning.

      On the 29th after dinner, the governor visited the ship, with the ladies of his family and all the officers of the garrison, black and white; and on his leaving us I caused a salute of eleven guns to be fired. He was much pleased with the attentions shown to him, and next day spoke of it with renewed offers of civility. I sent him, as well as Medina, a barrel of flour and pork, with some other small articles, and in return he sent me off six fine turkeys. From the favourable disposition of the governor, as well as the officers of the government, also on account of the facility of procuring refreshments, I would recommend Port Praya as an excellent place for our ships to stop for supplies. The bay is of easy access, and when the anchor is once settled in the bottom, is perfectly safe; it is necessary, however, to give the ship half a cable before you check her, or the anchor is not likely to take hold, and there is danger of her going on the rocks of Quail Island, as was the case with the Portuguese frigate.

      As the governor hinted to me that a letter from me to our minister at the court of Brazil would be agreeable to him, I wrote such a one as I thought would be flattering to him, and sent it on shore, informing him of my intentions to sail that day. A signal was in consequence hoisted (as he informed my officer), to permit us to depart.

      The governor is about 45 years of age, a man of easy and agreeable manners and friendly disposition. The utmost respect is paid to him by all subject to his authority. No one is ever seated in his presence; and, whenever he leaves his quarters, he is always accompanied by a guard; when on foot, he is preceded by a soldier bearing a halbert.

      During my stay I became acquainted with a Portuguese merchant, a man of considerable intelligence and wealth, and the owner of property in most of the islands. He was about sending the before-mentioned schooner to the Brazils, with dispatches for the governor, for the purpose of procuring a supply from that quarter, which, if they were not able to obtain, he assured me they should

be compelled to leave the island, as the drought for the last two years had prevented them from raising any corn, and that there was no such thing as bread in the islands; indeed the governor's table sufficiently bespoke the scarcity of it. He told me that the island of St. Vincents afforded a much more commodious harbour, a more abundant and cheaper supply of cattle, with fruits of every description in the greatest quantities, and fresh water in abundance, that could be procured with ease; and, as he was the possessor of most of the property in the island, gave me a letter to his overseer (to be delivered in the event of my going there), directing him to furnish us with every supply we might need.

      The friendly attentions we met with in the port of Praya, could not have been exceeded in any port of the United States; and, as the Portuguese are the allies of Great Britain, their attentions were as surprising as they were unexpected. I found, however, after I had been with them a short time, that their attachment to the Americans, growing out of their commercial interests and concerns, were very strong; that the only British vessels that ever touched there were vessels of war, who came for supplies, with the haughty unconciliating conduct of the commanders and officers of which they were by no means satisfied. They spoke of the prince regent as the slave, the tool of the British government, and were highly gratified with the accounts I gave them of our little success over the ships of that imperious navy. The governor assured me, he would give me every protection against any British force that should arrive there during my stay, and expressed a strong desire that we should make him another visit, when he hoped to make our time more agreeable.

      The two greatest evils to guard against in refreshing at Port Praya, is the bad rum of the country, and the heat of the sun, to both of which the watering party are unavoidably exposed. The negroes and seamen have such a variety of expedients for getting rum on board, that it is almost impossible to detect them. They hover about the beach with the bottles under their arms, and the shawls of the females serve the better to conceal them; and at a favourable opportunity they bury them in the sand, receive their money, and the sailor watches his opportunity for getting it on

board or drinking it. They sometimes draw the milk from the cocoa-nut, fill it with rum, and sell them to the seamen in that state at a high price. The first day we were employed in watering, we had several men drunk; but after that we were more fortunate, as I selected the most trusty men to fill and roll the casks to the beach, with directions to make a signal when they were ready to tow-off; by this means, we prevented our boats' crews from having any communication with the shore. A similar precaution was used in getting our supplies of fruit on board: they were brought to the beach by the negroes, and, on a signal being made, boats were sent for them. I should advise ships that intend getting any considerable supplies of water, to employ negroes altogether for filling the casks, and rolling them down to the beach, as it would entirely prevent the necessity of exposing the men, either to the inclemency of the sun, or the temptations held out to them.

      The watering-place is a well at the back of the town, in a valley, and the only place from whence the inhabitants receive their supply.

      On our arrival at Port Praya, our sick list consisted of Holmes, Klaer, and Hazen; but on the day of our departure there were nine patients on it; three from accidents, and three with inflamatory bilious fevers: this was one cause of my hastening from thence before I had completed filling my water, as I was fearful of introducing disease among the crew. None of the last selected watering-party on shore were in the slightest degree affected by the climate, although employed from day-light in the morning, until late at night; they were, however, shaded a considerable part of the time by the groves of cocoa-nut trees that grow between the landing-place and the well, and they were not compelled to work in the middle of the day; added to this, those employed after the first day were very temperate, and not known to enter into any excesses.

      On hauling around the east point of Port Praya, it is necessary to keep close in with the rocks, at the distance of a cable or a cable and a half, as the current sets strong to the westward, and the wind is generally variable and scant, and without this pre-

caution you will be likely to fall to leeward of the anchorage ground. It is also advisable to run in under top-sails, as it is frequently squally under the lee of the point. It is best to anchor well on the east side of the bay, in order that you may have room to clear the rocks that lie off the Isle of Quails. The wind seldom blows from the southward, and never strong enough to endanger vessels lying in the roads. Vessels bound to Port Praya should guard against entering, though [sic] mistake, into a bay that is formed by the S.E. point of the island and the east point of Praya, which bears a strong resemblance to Praya bay, and is very dangerous.

      Praya may be known by an old fort on point Tubaron; by the black island of Quails, on which several guns are mounted; by the fort and town of Praya; and by a flag-staff, or signal establishment, situated on a mountain, at the back of the east point of the bay. Praya is situated on a plain, on the top of a rock overlooking the bay, the sides of which, toward the sea, are every where nearly perpendicular, except two roads, one on the east, the other on the west, which have been cut in the rock, and are very steep. The houses or cabins, except those of the principal officers and the gaol, are built of rough stone, one story high, and covered with the branches of the cocoa-nut tree. The police of Praya is rigid; no one is permitted to wear concealed weapons; and had I not been well assured, that there were no better arms in the island, I should have supposed, that fears of an insurrection induced them to put unserviceable muskets and broken cutlasses into the hands of their naked negro soldiers.

      The following determinations were made at Port Praya, by astronomical observations;

      Praya at present has no commerce. It derives its principal support from vessels that casually stop in there for refreshments, and its only importance from being the residence of the captain-general of the islands of Cape de Verd, who receives a salary from the crown of $200 per month, and draws some portion of

the revenue arising from the sale of cattle to foreign vessels, on every head of which is a duty equal to one half the amount, paid by the purchaser. Whether this is an imposition of the officers of government, I will not pretend to decide; I would, however, advise such vessels as require fresh provisions to purchase sheep, hogs, and poultry, in preference to beef, on account of the cheapness and quality. Nor would I advise the purchase or contracts to be made the first day of the arrival; if a salute should be fired, in the course of a day or two the country people flock in from all parts of the island, and the price of every article is reduced one half.

      St. Jago produces, besides every species of tropical fruits, sugar, indigo, coffee of a superior quality and flavour, orchilla, a vine for dyeing, which is a monopoly of the crown, cotton, and (during the fruitful season) corn, in such considerable quantities, as to enable them to make large exportations to Madeira and the Canaries. Manufactories of a kind of cotton shawl, worn by the women of the island, are carried on in almost every family; it is remarkably neat, and consists of a number of narrow stripes, so artfully joined as to render the seam scarcely perceptible. Coverlids of the same kind for beds are also made.

      On leaving the port we shaped our course to the S.E. with a view of deceiving the people of Praya, and impressing a belief that we were bound to the coast of Africa; when, however, we were at such a distance that the ship could no longer be seen from the town, I stood S.S.W. by compass, with a view of falling in with the island of St. Pedro de Ponedro, said to be situated in lat. 0° 55" north, and, according to Blunt, in long. 29° 10" west. The French, however, have situated it in long. 29° 34" west from Paris, answering to 27° 14" west from Greenwich. The sailing directions for the East India Pilot place it between 0° 55" and 1° 20' north latitude, and longitude west from London 31° 25": all these calculations have been made by the run of vessels from St. Helena and Ascension, and not from astronomical calculations. I determined to fix the true position of the island, if we should be enabled to find it

      On the 3d December, Levi Holmes departed this life: he had laboured under a paralytic affection since our departure, and no hopes whatever were entertained of his recovery; one side of him was perfectly paralized, and we may deem it a fortunate circumstance for him that he was taken off: the faculties of his mind were nearly suspended; he was unable to give himself the slightest assistance; deprived of his speech, a burden to himself, and those who had charge of him, there was no prospect but that of the most abject misery before him, as all hopes of his recovery had been long abandoned, and I believe that the death of this poor wretch produced a sensation of joy in the breast of every person on board. His remains were committed to the deep, according to the funeral ceremonies of the church.

      My chief care was now the health of my people, and every means that could suggest themselves to my mind to effect this great object were adopted. The utmost cleanliness was required from every person on board, directions were given for mustering the crew every morning at their quarters, where they were strictly examined by their officers. It was recommended to them to bathe at least once a day, and the officers were requested to show them the example in so doing themselves; they were required, also, to use every means in their power to provide constant employment for the men under their controul [sic] during working hours, and amusement for them during the hours of recreation, and to be particularly careful not to harass them by disturbing them unnecessarily during their watch below, as also to guard against any improper or unnecessary exposure to the weather; economy was recommended to the crew in the use of their supply of fruit, and permission was given to suspend it in the rigging and other airy parts of the ship, in nets made for the purpose, with a promise of the severest punishment to such as should be detected in stealing from others: with those precautions to procure exercise and cleanliness, with proper ventilations and fumigations, a young, active, healthy, and contented crew, a ship in good order for the service we were engaged in, well found with the best provisions, and the purest water, perfectly free from all bad taste and smell, I do not conceive why we should be in greater apprehen-

sion of disease originating on board now, than on the coast of North America: we have friendly ports under our lee, where we may stop from time to time to procure the necessary supplies of refreshments; and the temperature of the atmosphere, although the mercury in the day time stood at 85°, when between the latitude of 6° and 12° N., was not sensibly hotter than I have frequently experienced it on our own coast. The clouds which overhang the atmosphere during the day, and nearly obscure the sun, served greatly to ameliorate the effects of its rays; a pleasant and steady breeze from the east contributed greatly to refresh the air; and sailing could not be more pleasant than was our passage towards the line. The landsmen on board were delighted with it, and the seamen felicitated themselves that it was not always the case at sea, "or all the old women in the country (as they expressed themselves) would have been sailors." Between those latitudes, we met with great quantities of that gelatinous substance, generally known by the name of sun-fish.

      Finding that the great quantity of stock on board must necessarily consume a great deal of water, or suffer, I directed that the seamen should kill all their pigs; and as the young goats, by sucking the old, deprived us of their milk, I directed that they also should be killed. Many petitions were sent in to me to save from slaughter a favourite kid, or a pig that had been destined for a Christmas dinner, with assurances from the owner that they should be supplied with water from his own allowance, although they were allowed only half a gallon; yet I found it necessary to be inflexible to avoid the imputation of partiality; for if I had granted the petition in one instance, I should had to have done so in all, and the quantity of stock, and the dirt occasioned by them, were no inconsiderable inconveniences on board,

      On the 6th I had the happiness to see our sick list reduced to four patients, to wit;

      The regulation of permitting the crew to sleep on the gundeck, with the ports open, where they have a free circulation of air, contributes not a little, in my opinion, to the preservation of their health. Most commanders are averse to this indulgence, in consequence of their supposing their hammocks in the way of the guns; but so far from finding a disadvantage in it, I find a great advantage in always having the men near their quarters, when on the slightest alarm they may be ready for action; and should circumstances make it necessary for us to pipe up the hammocks on seeing a strange sail at night, they can be lashed up much sooner and with less confusion on a roomy gun-deck, than from a dark and crowded birth-deck. But if it should happen (which cannot be the case with a good look-out) that a vessel should be close on board before she is discovered, and there should not be time to get the hammocks on deck, it is an easy matter to cut away the lanyards, and throw the hammocks below, or on one side, clear of the guns. It must be understood that none are permitted to sleep on the gun-deck, but those who are quartered at the guns there; and they are compelled to sling the hammocks opposite their guns, and are accountable for the safety of every article belonging to them. Ships that adopt this regulation, with other proper precautions, have always healthy crews; and this circumstance alone, which contributes so much to their comfort, and in time of action must render them more efficient, should overcome the trifling, ill-founded apprehension of not having the hammocks stowed in time for action. Fifteen minutes are sufficient at any time to make every preparation for action; and on discovering a vessel at night, there can be no circumstance which should render it necessary to run along side of her without taking that much time to prepare for battle. In order to have the hammocks in a greater state of readiness for stowing away, orders were given that every man, so soon as he turns out to take his watch, should lash his hammock up in readiness to take on deck.

      The sick are never permitted to remain on the gun-deck at night, but are brought up by their messmates every morning, and their hammocks are slung in some cool agreeable part of the

gun-deck, where they will not be disturbed by persons at work or running against them.

      What can be more dreadful than for 300 men to be confined with their hammocks, being only 18 inches apart, on the birthdeck of a small frigate, a space of 70 feet long, 35 feet wide, and 5 feet high, in a hot climate, where the only aperture by which they can receive air are two hatchways, of about 6 feet square? Their situation must be little superior to the wretches who perished in the black hole of Calcutta. A call to their watch must be a relief from their sufferings; and although it exposes them to all the ills attending the violent and sudden chills occasioned by the dews and night air while the pores are open, and the body in a profuse perspiration, it is more tolerable than suffocation. Those sudden and frequent changes from melting to freezing must, in time, wear out the strongest constitution, and produce incurable diseases. From the number confined in so small a space, the whole atmosphere of the ship becomes tainted, and not only those who are compelled to sleep below, but every person on board, breathes and is affected by the pernicious vapours arising from the birth-deck. Various expedients have been fallen on to remove this foul air: fumigation with gunpowder, and burning fires below, purifying by sprinkling vinegar, and ventilating by means of wind-sails; but the most effectual remedy, although the most uncomfortable, and perhaps not adapted for that object, is the French practice of baking their bread in ovens built on the birth-deck. While heating them, a constant current of air rushes towards the fire, the foul air is carried off, and fresh air rushes in to supply its place. I have not, however, found either of those methods necessary, and therefore have adopted none except ventilation. As we have but few who sleep on the birth-deck, we have no foul air generated; and it is found that good wind sails, and a little vinegar evaporated in the manner formerly mentioned, are sufficient to keep the air perfectly sweet. The latter practice, however, is in opposition to the opinion of Dr. Miller, my surgeon, who declares it to be extremely injurious, in consequence of the corrosive qualities of the vinegar; the smell arising from it, however, is very agreeable, the vapour very

searching, and as I have not, after an experience of several years, discovered any bad effects from it, and have from that or some other cause been so fortunate as to have healthy crews, I am determined not to discontinue that mode of fumigation, until I am convinced by facts that the practice is prejudicial.

      Being now in the latitude of 4° north, we begin to experience slight variations in the trade winds, hauling from the N.E. to E. by S. and in intervals heavy showers of rain, of a few minutes continuance; but we were not able to catch any water, although our rain awning was kept spread for the purpose. We also had some distant lightning to the southward, and sometimes the rain was accompanied by a little increase of wind, but more frequently calms; but little change was perceived in the temperature of the air; and the clouds continued to hover over and obscure the sun. We have not seen, since we left the Cape de Verds, any appearance of that weed, commonly known in America by the name of the gulf-weed; nor have we perceived any other kind of weed floating on the surface of the sea, or any birds that could lead us to suppose we were in the neighbourhood of such places as they generally resort to. The only fish that came near the vessel were a few porpoises, and of them we did not succeed in striking any.

      On the 8th, in lat. 3° north, we began to experience the S.E. trade winds; and a considerable change took place in the temperature of the air, as the thermometer fell to 82°. In the afternoon we saw several of those birds called sheerwaters; but as they are to be met with, at times, in every part of the Atlantic, I did not consider their appearance as a certain indication of the vicinity of land, although by our calculation we suppose ourselves to be only about 40 leagues from Penedro de St. Pedro. I this day caused the crew to be paid in cash for the amount due them for the stoppages of provisions.

      It has excited much astonishment among seamen why the temperature of the air should be so much warmer to the northward of the line, at all seasons of the year, than at the southward, and that the N.E. trades should always be met in a northern latitude, particularly when the sun is in his highest southern de-

clination, as he happens to be at present; but by running the eye over the chart the mystery is solved.

      It is well known that the trade winds blow from the eastward to the westward throughout the year, but undergoing some slight variations from local causes, or the change of the sun's place in the ecliptic; and those winds, it is generally admitted, are caused by the highly rarefied state of the air between the tropics, and the passage of the sun from east to west, or rather the earth's rotatory motion from west to east, it follows that a current of cold air must rush to these points where the air is most rarefied, to restore the eqilibrium. And as the coast of Africa to the north of the equator, and between Cape Verd and Sierra Leone, projects west, to within 10 or 12 degrees of the usual track of vessels crossing the line bound to the southward, and as the trade-winds, before they reach this point, pass over a tract of land, extending from the Gulf of Arabia to the Atlantic, and equal in width to 65 degrees, it may be presumed that they must contract in their passage a great intensity of heat, of which they lose but a small portion before reaching the track of vessels; it may therefore be expected, even if facts did not prove it to be the case, that the most intense heat of the trades experienced by vessels is near the most westerly projection of Africa, or between the latitudes of 5° and 12° north.

      From Sierra Leone the land trends to the eastward for about 25 degrees, and forms that part of the ocean called the Gulph of Guinea, the bottom of which lies in about 12° east longitude; consequently a space of ocean extends between the continent and the ship (when between the line and lat. 5° N.) upwards of 35 degrees; and as the trades in passing over the continent here from the Indian seas have only a passage of 30°, and consequently contract only a proportionable degree of heat, and as it might be expected that much of it would be lost before they reach the ship, it seems natural to suppose that they would incline toward the north, to restore the equilibrium (destroyed by the highly rarefied air from the projecting point of Africa), and thus produce the cool and refreshing S.E. trade winds. When the sun is to the north of the equator, the S.E. trades are to be

met in a more northern latitude, but they are at all times to be met to the north of the line.

      On the afternoon our longitude, by a very accurate chronometer, was 26° 41' 39" west, the latitude at meridian was 3° 2' 6" north.

      On the evening of the 9th, being in the lat. of 1° N. and long. 28° 45' west, hove the ship to, for fear of running in the night past Penedro de St. Pedro. We were not enabled to strike into the latitude of the island farther to the eastward than 27° west, on account of the scantiness of the winds; nor did I conceive it would be safe to run farther west than 29° 15', for fear of not being able afterwards to make the island of Fernando Noronha. I therefore, at 8 o'clock the next morning, finding myself in that longitude (which was determined by the lunar observation the preceding evening, with which the result given by the chronometer agreed within a few minutes), I gave up the search. I at that time had a view of 25 miles to the westward, and am enabled to state positively, that the island of Penedro de St. Pedro, or St. Pauls, does not exist between the latitudes of 55' and 18 20' N. and the longitudes of 27° and 29° 40' west. I had, however, to regret, a few hours afterwards, that I did not extend the research farther, as a large flock of gulls and other birds that frequent the shores every night, convinced me that I was in the neighbourhood of land.

      In our run from the latitude of 10° north, we have constantly experienced a current setting to the northward and westward, at the rate of from 12 to 18 miles in 24 hours, and was found to be strongest as we approached the equator, but less inclining to the westward. This current, at this season of the year, seems difficult to account for, if we do not attribute it to the effects of the strong S.E. trades to the south of the line, and this seems admissible. The S.E. trades, when the sun is in the tropic of Capricorn, may be supposed to extend as far south as the latitude of 28° or 30° propelling a current of water toward the coast of Brazils; it there follows the obliquity of the east coast, and flows off to the northward and eastward, until it meets the east and N.E. trades to the north of the line, which, when at the

latitude of 6° or 10°, changes its course from the northward and eastward to the northward and westward; as it proceeds farther north it becomes more affected by the trades, and at length takes their course, and flows with the other waters borne down by them through the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, following the direction of the continent, until it finds an outlet between the Bahama Islands and the coast of Florida, and produces that current on the coast of North America, known by the name of the gulph stream. The currents to the south of Cape Frio may be supposed from the same cause to take a south-westerly direction, losing themselves in the southern ocean. The observations made by different navigators seem to authorise this belief. Bougainville, on the east coast of Brazil, experienced a north-east current; and, speaking of the current generally on the coast of Brazil, he says, "the S.E. currents that navigators have experienced on this coast are subject to variations, and sometimes take a contrary direction;" and again, "it appears that in those parts the currents vary, running sometimes to the N.E., but more frequently to the S.W." "a glance of the eye on the direction of the coast is sufficient to prove that it should necessarily follow one of those courses."

      Lieut. Blight [sic], when in lat. 2° north, long. 20° west, discovered a current setting to the N.E., at the rate of 14' in 14 hours.

      Vancouver found strong and irregular currents between the Isle of St. Antonio, one of the Cape de Verds, and Cape St. Augustine, and in consequence contests the opinion given by Nicholson, in his hypothesis given in his East India sailing directions, published in 1787, by which it appears the current should set regularly to the north at that season of the year (July.) The observations of Vancouver, however, so far from operating against my theory, serve to establish it; for according to it, the gulf stream, in following the direction given to it by the coast of America, the Banks of Newfoundland, and the prevalence of northerly winds in the northern hemisphere, should produce a south-east current among the Cape de Verds, which as it falls in with the current occasioned by the N.E. and east trades, takes a direction south-westerly, combining at length with the trade cur-

rent and current from the Brazil coast, and flowing off to the west.

      Vancouver has not given us any data from which we may draw any just conclusions; he observes, "From the Isle of St. Antonio, as far south as Cape St. Augustine, the currents are very irregular, and in the lat. of 6° north there is a strong ripple. Those currents, notwithstanding the general opinion, do not appear to have any irregularity, for it appeared that we were set in a different direction from the one we expected from its effects on us the preceding day; and those that we most experienced had a southerly direction, and more frequently to the S.E. than to the S.W."

      The ripple of which Vancouver makes mention, I also discovered, and in the same latitude, with a very high and irregular swell from the northward. The ripple I attributed entirely to the meeting of the currents, and perhaps the swell may be owing in some measure to the same cause, though I rather think it owing to banks formed in that neighbourhood by the deposit of matter brought from the coast of Brazils.

      All navigators, in crossing between the Cape de Verds and the coast of Brazils, have remarked the irregularities of the currents, but none have heretofore attempted to account for them; and I should not have hazarded an opinion on this subject, were I not firmly of the belief that the trade winds are the great cause of currents in the north and south Atlantic oceans.

      On the 11th crossed the equator in the long. of 30° west. Since the 9th we have had (particularly at night) squally weather, with heavy showers of rain; this may be accounted for by the absence of the sun's rays, but more satisfactorily by the vapours being condensed by the cool S.E. trades.

      On the 12th, about 2, P.M., discovered a sail to windward, which bore the appearance of a British brig of war; made all sail in chace of her, and at 6 she displayed a signal. With a view of decoying her down to me, I displayed such British signals as I became possessed of during my last cruize, but without effect. At sundown she hoisted British colours, and after dark made her night signals. At 9 we were within musket shot, and being de-

sirous of doing her as little injury as possible, I gave orders that the great guns should not be fired. I hailed her, and directed her to lower her topsails, haul up her courses, and heave-to to windward: but as she attempted to run athwart my stern, with a view, as I supposed to rake us and make her escape, I directed a volley of musketry to be fired, which (I am sorry to say) killed one man on board her. She proved to be his majesty's packet Nocton, bound to Falmouth, of 10 guns and 31 men. I, that night, took out the prisoners, and a quantity of specie found on board, amounting to about $55,000.

      On the 13th dispatched the prize under the command of lieutenant Finch, and as I sent in her 17 of the prisoners, I was under the necessity of sending as many of my own crew. I sent in the prize the captain, master, and passengers; and, with a view of securing their neutrality in the event of any attempt to retake the vessel, I permitted them to go on parole of honour, with the privilege of embarking on board any vessel they might meet, bound to England or elsewhere. As I have never permitted prisoners to be plundered in any one instance, the officers and passengers of the brig soon felt themselves, while on board the Essex, at perfect ease, and secure from any violence; and they seemed to consider their capture and trip to America more in the light of an agreeable adventure, and a party of pleasure, than a misfortune.

      A Mr. James Heyworth, a merchant from Brazils, on leaving my ship, presented me with two letters unsealed, which he requested me to present in the event of my going to Rio Janeiro. One of them I found to be a letter of introduction; the other announcing his capture. To shew the sentiments by which he was impressed, I shall give a copy of them both

      The Nocton proving to be a beautiful vessel, and well calculated for the United States service, I took the liberty of recommending her to the secretary of the navy as a cruiser; being anxious that one of the enemy's small vessels should be taken

in our service, to supply the place of the Nautilus, which had been taken by the British a short time before.

      The prize made sail to the north-west, and we pursued our course to the southward,

      The following officers and men were sent on board her, from this ship, to take her to the United States, viz

Lieutenant Finch, commander	Samuel Manly
Midshipman Mhos. A. Conover	Josiah Morris
John C. Porter	William Sinclair
John Godfrey	Ramsay White
John Hubbard	William Klaer
John Williams	Charles Haigh
William Bursell	Berlin St. Rose
Nicholas Ledworth

      A list of the prisoners sent in the brig

      A list of the prisoners kept on board the Essex

      To guard more effectually against recapture, I caused the youngest and weakest part of her crew to be sent in her, and retained on board all the seamen and strongest men

      On the 13th we set up our rigging, which had become much stretched in consequence of the warm weather, and the larboard rigging particularly so, from carrying sail so long on one tack.

      On the afternoon of the 14th made the high peak (called the Pyramid) of the island of Fernando de Noronha, under the lee bow, and kept plying to windward, under easy sail, all night. At midnight, one of the men on the look-out informed the officer of the deck, that he had descried a sail under the lee, but it proved to be the peak of the island.

      At day-light bore up for the harbour, disguised the ship as a merchant-man, hoisted English colours, ran close in, and sent the boat on shore with lieut. Downes in plain clothes, and directed him to inform the governor, that we were the ship Fanny, captain Johnson, from London, via Newfoundland, bound to Rio Janeiro for a cargo, out 60 days; that we were short of water, had several of the crew sick with the scurvy, and were very much in want of refreshments; but that we could not anchor, as we had lost all our anchors but one, and that our cables were bad. The boat returned after being absent two hours and a half; and lieut. Downes informed me that two British frigates had left this place the last week; that they had reported themselves to the governor as his Britannic majesty's ships Acasta, of 44 guns, captain Kerr, and the Morgiana, of 20 guns, from England, bound to India; and that a letter had been left by the captain of the Acasta, for sir Jame Yeo, of his majesty's frigate Southampton, to be sent to England by the first opportunity. The boat also brought me a small present of fruit from the governor.

      I immediately dispatched lieut. Downes with a present of porter and cheese the governor, with many thanks for his extreme civility, and to inform him, that there was a gentleman on board, who was intimately acquainted with sir James Yeo, and was going from Brazils direct to England, who would take charge of the letter and deliver it to sir James. About 3 o'clock, lieut. Downes returned with the letter, which, on opening, I found to contain as follows;

      As this was the second rendezvous fixed on by com. Bainbridge, I was not at loss to divine whence the letter was from, nor for whom it was intended.

      We immediately hoisted up our boat and made sail to the southward.

      The Portuguese island or Fernando de Noronha, is in lat. 3° 54' 28" south, and long. 32° 36' 38" West from London. It is well fortified in every part, and its population consists of a few miserable, naked, exiled Portuguese, and as miserable a guard. The governor is changed every three years, and during his term of service in the island, has the privilege of disposing of its produce to his own emolument. Cattle in abundance, hogs, goats, fowls, &c. may be had there, as well as corn, melons, cocoa-nuts, &c. &c. Ships, formerly, frequently touched there for refreshments, wood, and water, but for seven months prior to the arrival of the Acasta, none had been there. There are no females on the island, and none are permitted to be there, from what motives I cannot conceive, except it be to render the place of exile the more horrible. The watering-place is near the beach, at the foot of

the rock on which the citadel is placed, and it is with the utmost difficulty and danger that the casks can be got through the surf to the boat. The island produces wood in abundance, but the Portuguese do not permit it to be cut for shipping any where, but on a small island to the east of Fernando, called Wooding Island. This island is in tolerable good cultivation, and produces their principal supply of vegetables. There is no boat in the island, and the only means of communication between Wooding Island and Fernando, is a small raft or catamaran, which is carefully kept in one of the forts, and is capable of bearing only two men. An abundance of fish may be procured with but little trouble with the hook and line.

      As clothing is not in use here; as hunger may be gratified without labour; and as there is an appearance of cheerfulness, those who are not in chains may be supposed, in some measure, reconciled to a state as good perhaps as any they had formerly been accustomed to.

      The governor caused his catamaran to be launched through a surf (which twice filled our boat, and was near destroying her), and dispatched it to Wooding Island for fruit for us, but before she returned we had left this miserable Botany Bay of Portugal.

      A rise of tide was perceptible here of about 5 feet. The only anchoring place is near the citadel.

      After leaving Fernando de Noronha we kept close on a wind, for fear of not being able to weather the coast of Brazils, as well as with a view of falling in with the track of vessels from Porto Plate and Rio Janeiro; when abreast the coast of Pernambuco, although at the distance of 60 leagues, we found the weather extremely sultry and oppressive, so much so, as to produce an uncommon degree of lassitude, which it was almost impossible to overcome. I therefore considered it advisable to keep the crew as free from exercise as possible, and out of the sun, with a view of preserving their health, which, to this time, was as good as ever. Our sick list was as follows;

      As some of our people had, contrary to orders, sold their clothes (at Port Praya), and as we had not a very large supply of summer clothing on board, (as well with a view of punishing them, as to make our supply hold out,) I did not until now permit their summer clothes to be issued.

      The oppressive heat here is, I presume, occasioned by the coast of Brazils, which runs at right angles with the direction of the trades, and occasions an interruption of their course, as it is well known, that winds never blow home (as seamen term it) on a high coast; added to this, the land breezes which blow off at night break in on the regularity of the current of air, and produce the light and baffling winds and calms that we have experienced in this place.

      From the accounts I have received from several persons on board, who have been trading on this coast, it appears, that the land breezes blow very regularly at night, and extend to a considerable distance to sea, and serve to favour the passage of vessels bound from St. Salvadore and other ports to the northward, as they stand off shore with the land until they meet the sea breeze, which enables them to make a considerable slant to the northward.

      We, however, were too far off shore to feel the land breeze, but not too far to experience its effects.

      The land breezes may owe their existence to the following cause. The action of the sun produces, in the day, by rarefying the air, a considerable elevation of the atmosphere, and where the sun's rays are strongest the greater elevation is produced; between the tropics, but more particularly under the sun, this effect is most observable, and where the sun's rays arc reflected back by the land, the effect is still more heightened. When the cause of this extreme elevation ceases, when the sun has set, a general fall of the atmosphere takes place, like water returning to its level to restore the equilibrium; in its fall, should it meet with high land or mountains, it follows the obliquity of their sides, rushing in torrents down through the valleys until it is borne off to the sea,

where it spends itself, under the name of the land breeze, at the distance of a few leagues. On the rising of the sun a new elevation takes place, and a fresh current of air, called the sea breeze, rushes towards the land to supply the vacuum. Every where throughout the world, where the sun's rays are felt, this elevation of atmosphere, in a more or less degree, takes place, but not so much as to produce land winds, except within the tropics, and this elevation is always greatly increased by the opposition of land to the sun's rays. The change in the temperature of the earth cannot, as has been falsely supposed, produce this extraordinary elevation of the atmosphere; was the heat of the sun absorbed by the earth, the effect, instead of being heightened, would be lessened. The elevating effects produced by the earth on the atmosphere may be attributed to reflection alone, and the current of air, called the land breeze, is owing entirely to the earth's form. An extensive flat country without mountains, would produce, by reflection, a great elevation of atmosphere; but when the sun, the cause of this elevation was removed, little or no land breeze would ensue, for the want of mountains to change the course of the atmosphere from its vertical direction. A great rise and fall of the atmosphere in the like manner takes place at sea, at a great distance from coasts, but owing to the smooth surface of the ocean and the absence of mountains, we are rendered insensible of it.

      On the 18th discovered a sail; and this being the first we had discovered since the capture of the Nocton, it excited great interest among the ship's company; but on approaching her, discovered her to be a brig under Portuguese colours, standing towards St. Salvadore; but as I did not wish to make ourselves known to her, hoisted English colours, and stood on our course.

      On the 20th, spoke a Portuguese vessel from St. Salvadore bound to Laguira, out 18 days; we boarded her under English colours, and on the captain's coming on board, he informed me, that an English sloop of war had put into St. Salvadore in distress a short time before he sailed, laden with specie, from Rio de la Plata, last from Rio Janeiro, and bound to Europe. From the description he gave me of this vessel, there can be no doubt of her

being H.B.M.'s sloop of war the Bonne Citoyenne, of which we obtained intelligence by the Nocton. The prisoners informed met that she sailed 6 days before the Nocton, and was so deep as to be thought by many very unsafe; her sides were painted red, and she is a long, low corvette; this answers the description given by the Portuguese, who informed me, that she had sprung a leak from having been on shore, had taken out all her guns and money, and was preparing to heave out. My first intention was to go and cruize off St. Salvadore until she came out, and made all sail for that port, but on a little reflection, I considered it advisable to act differently, for the following reasons;

      I thought it not unlikely, that com. Bainbridge would, on arriving off St. Salvadore, continue to cruize there for the Bonne Citoyenne, and if so, my presence there would prove unnecessary. I did not know, however, but, with a view of collecting his squadron together, he might forego every other consideration, and proceed directly off Cape Frio to join me; I therefore concluded it incumbent in me to be punctual to the time and place of every rendezvous; added to these, I was induced to believe, that she would leave St. Salvadore under convoy of the admiral's ship the Montague, which was to have sailed from Rio Janeiro a few days after the Nocton, for St. Salvadore; I therefore made the best of my way for Cape Frio, where I believed I should be enabled to arrive time enough to proceed from thence to St. Sebastians, if it should then be advisable so to do.

      When in the latitude of 17° 35' S., and longitude of 34° 56' W., supposing myself to be on the Abrohlas shoal, sounded with 120 fathoms of line, but got no bottom; we again sounded in latitude of 19° 45' S., and longitude of 37° 22' W., with the same quantity of line, but did not succeed in getting bottom; and between the soundings we did not perceive that the water was in the smallest degree discoloured about this place. Com. Anson, and other navigators, lay down soundings of considerable extent, at the depth of from 24 to 80 fathoms, but I am persuaded that they are laid down erroneously, as our latitude and longitude proved to be very correct. Sir Erasmus Gower, in his passage to Rio Janeiro with lord Macartney, endeavoured to find the shoal, but

did not succeed with 200 fathoms of line, in lat. 16° 18' S., long. 36° 5' W.; he again sounded at the same depth in lat. 18° 30' S., and long. 36° 50' W., and was equally unsuccessful.

      On morning of the 25th, the colour of the water indicated soundings, and at meridian discovered the land bearing W. by N.; our latitude, by estimation, was then 22° 46' S.: the weather being hazy, and sun obscure, we were not able to get an observation

      The land we first discovered was high and irregular, and I had every reason to believe it to be a part of a group of islands to the north of Cape Frio; I therefore hauled to the southward to make the cape, which we discovered about 4 P.M. Ran down and hove-to off the pitch of it, to meet the arrival of vessels bound to Rio Janeiro, this being the point they endeavour to make from the north as well as south, with the exception of some few coasting vessels, and is considered as eligible a place as any in those seas for cruizing against the enemy's commerce. Lay to under easy sail until the morning of the 27th, when we discovered a sail, to which we gave chase. On approaching her, discovered from her rig, that she was a Portuguese vessel bound to the westward; I therefore considered it advisable to disguise the ship as a merchantman, and, on passing her, hoisted English colours, on discovering which, she hoisted the Portuguese flag. In the afternoon, discovered another sail to the southward, which bore the appearance of a British brig of war, to which we gave chace, and did not succeed in getting within gun-shot until about 10 o'clock, when we succeeded in bringing her to; but as I was answered in Portuguese, and it appearing that there was no person on board who could speak or understand English, I concluded that she was a Portuguese vessel; and as it came on to blow a fresh gale of wind, and as the boat could not board her without great risk, I concluded on permitting her to proceed without further delay.

      In the morning, I discovered that we had run so far to the westward during the chase, as to bring us within 5 leagues of the entrance of Rio; I therefore made all sail to endeavour to beat up to Cape Frio; but it came on to blow so fresh, as to render our attempts fruitless, and, as I saw no hopes of succeeding until a

change took place, I concluded on taking a position to intercept vessels from Rio, and consequently bore up to run a little to leeward of the harbour, when I hove to with three reefs in the top-sails, and mizen top-sail aback.

      For the two last days the ship has been surrounded with dolphins, of which we have succeeded in catching great numbers.

      On the morning of the 29th, the man at the mast-head descried sail to windward, and on going into the main-top with my glass, perceived that she was a schooner, and standing in for the harbour of Rio. Made all sail in chase to endeavour to cut her off, but did not succeed in bringing her to, until about 9 o'clock at night, when, after firing several shot at her, she bore up and run under our lee. She proved to be the British schooner Elizabeth from Rio, bound to England, but had put back in consequence of having sprung a leak; after taking the prisoners out, we discovered that she had parted with a convoy of British vessels, under charge of the Juniper, a three-masted schooner, about half an hour before she was discovered by us. The prisoners stated, that the Juniper had sailed the night before from Rio, with six vessels in company, to wit: a cutter, 4 ships, and the Elizabeth; that the cutter had gone to the southward to convoy a ship to St. Sebastians, and that the Juniper had proceeded to the eastward with the three others, which were deep laden and dull-sailing ships. I also obtained certain intelligence, that the British admiral's ship the Montague, was still at Rio Janeiro, with all her sails unbent; that a packet had sailed for England on Christmas day; and that there was no British vessels there expected to sail shortly. Believing that I should be enabled to overtake the convoy in a few days, by carrying a press of sail, I used every exertion to get clear of the schooner, and put midshipman Clarke, with six men of our crew, and three prisoners, on board her, with orders, leaving it discretionary with him, whether to go direct to North America or proceed to Rio Janeiro; and in the event of his going to the latter place, I furnished him with the following letter, to be delivered to the American minister there;

      I also gave him the two letters of Mr. Heywood to deliver, if the minister should consider it advisable to do so. I recommended to Mr. Clarke to put into one of the bye-ports along the coast, to examine into the state of the leaks, and endeavour to stop them without going to Rio. I then made all sail to the eastward.

      On the morning of the 30th discovered that our main top-mast trussel-trees were carried away, and we expected every moment that our top-mast, rigging, and top-gallant-mast, would come tumbling about our heads; but in my anxiety to come up with the convoy, I determined that this accident should not compel me to give up the pursuit: I therefore directed that the top-gallant-mast should be lashed aloft, and to favour the mast as much as possible in carrying sail. The winds being to the westward, which enabled us to carry studding-sails on both sides, our rate of sailing from 4 to 6 miles per hour, but against a heavy head sea, that strained our masts and rigging excessively, and occasioned our carrying away some of our light spars, which were soon replaced. On the meridian of this day, I supposed the convoy to be about 35 miles to the eastward of us. Since the pursuit, I had regular-

ly estimated their rate of sailing by our own, proportioning theirs to ours as 5 to 7; and as I had possession of the log-book of the prize, and ascertained the point of their departure, it may be supposed, that, as respected the distance made by them, I could not be much out in my calculation. The greatest embarrassment was as to the course they had steered: but knowing that they would endeavour to get to the eastward, I steered that course along shore, which would prevent, as I believed, the possibility of their keeping in shore of us, without being seen; and when I believed myself nearly as far to the east as them, I steered away to the south-east, with a view of traversing their course; and, after running about 30 miles, steered north-east.

      In the course of this pursuit, there appeared an evident desire on the part of the captain of the prize to deter us from going off St. Salvador, and in pursuit of the Bonne Citoyenne; and to effect his object, he stated a number of circumstances which we knew to be false, and, among others, that the admiral had sailed from Rio Janeiro to give her convoy, when we had the most certain intelligence of his being at Rio Janeiro with all his sails unbent. From his apparent eagerness on the occasion, I was induced to believe, that the convoy were bound there to join the Bonne Citoyenne; and what served to strengthen this belief was, that the Juniper sailed from Rio Janeiro with only a small quantity of water on board; added to this, it was understood, that she was not to convoy the vessels beyond a certain distance, when she was to leave them and proceed to Halifax, the station to which she belonged. These considerations induced me to make the best of my way intercept them off St. Salvador.

      On the 1st January, 1813, the man at the fore-top-gallant-masthead, cried out a sail, and, in a few minutes after, three more. The ship was immediately in an uproar, every person hurrying on deck to give chace, as there was not a doubt of its being the convoy; but in a few moments we were undeceived: it proved to be nothing but small clouds rising from the horizon, that bore strongly the appearance of vessels.

      On the 2d, at day-light, discovered two sail to windward; gave chace to one which bore the appearance of a brig of war, the other being a polacca, and had the appearance of a Portuguese.

      At 9, spoke the chase: she proved to be a Portuguese brig of war, 9 days from Bahia, where she left the Bonne Citoyenne, and was boarded the day after she came out by a frigate mounting 59 guns, having a sloop of war in company, under English colours.

      Knowing that the enemy had but three ships of war in those seas, to wit, the Montague 74, the Nerus 32, and the Bonne Citoyenne of 20 guns; the first at Rio Janeiro, the second at the River of Plate, and the third at Bahia, I was very well satisfied that the frigate and sloop of war, could be no others than the American frigate Constitution and the sloop of war Hornet, and as I expected that they would remain there to endeavour to take the Bonne Citoyenne, I determined to join them with all dispatch.

      I requested the commander of the brig to call on the admiral immediately on his arrival at Rio Janeiro, and inform him, that he had spoken his Britannic majesty's frigate Hyperion, of 32 guns, 7 weeks from England, bound to Rio, but having heard of a large American privateer on the coast, I intended cruizing for her a short time before I went in. He promised me he should make it his business to do so immediately on his arrival.

      My motive for giving this information was to keep the admiral in port, as I had certain intelligence from the prisoners that he expected reinforcements from England, and I was in hopes, that the expectation of their arrival in a few days might occasion him to delay his departure in pursuit of the ships off Bahia (of which I was certain he would receive intelligence by the first arrival from that quarter), and thus enable me to cruize more leisurely for the convoy, and yet have sufficient time to join the commodore, before the admiral could get there, as I believed that the Constitution, Essex, and Hornet, would be a match for him.

      On the 3d spoke another Portuguese brig, who informed me that she had left an American frigate and sloop of war off Bahia 10 days since.

      We now discovered that our mizen top-mast-trussel-trees were in as bad a state as those of the main; and it falling calm, I determined to take advantage of it to repair our damages, having previously caused a new set of trussel-trees to be prepared

We consequently all went to work, sent down the main and mizen top-masts, stripped them of their rigging, and before night had completed all our repairs.

      On the 5th, in the morning, spoke a Portuguese smack from Rio, bound to Bahia; had seen nothing of the convoy; and at meridian spoke a Spanish brig, with troops from Bahia, bound to Monte Video, out 8 days; confirmed the account of the American frigate and sloop of war. As the winds had now shifted to the northward, and blew in fresh gales, I concluded it would be best to make as much easting as possible, to be in a situation to take advantage of any favourable change. Our latitude on the meridian of this day, 22° 13' 17" S.; longitude 36° 49' 30" W. Our crew continue to be remarkably healthy, there being but one man under the doctor's charge; and he a carpenter, who accidentally cut his foot with an adze, in making the trussle-trees.

      Between the 6th and 12th, nothing of any importance occurred; the winds being obstinately from the northward, and continuing to blow in fresh gales; nor did I perceive a chance of a change. I determined, therefore, to give up all further pursuit of the convoy that had already taken us so far from the track of other British vessels, and at 9, A.M., wore round, and stood to the westward. Our latitude at noon was 24° 39' 44" S.; longitude 27° 43' 20" W. My intention was to run into St. Sebastians or St. Catharines, as the wind should suit. My object in going into port was to procure a supply of wood and water, which were both getting low; and to get refreshments for my crew, as I began to be apprehensive of the effects of salt provisions. I gave the preference to St. Catharines, however, as it was more distant from Rio Janeiro; and I should have an opportunity of getting to sea again, before the enemy could hear of me; for as St. Sebastians is but one day's run from Rio Janeiro, there would have been a certainty of my being attacked, or blockaded, if the expected reinforcements should have arrived. At St. Catharines, I had not so much to apprehend from an attack, as I had understood the place to be well fortified, and could protect us; added to this, it was a place of more importance. I had reason to expect that I should be enabled to procure a supply of bread, flour rum,

and many other articles of provisions and stores, which would be necessary for us, to enable me to meet at the last appointed rendezvous; that being the only one that I could now reasonably expect to meet commodore Bainbridge, as he had appointed me at Praya, Fernando de Noronha, and at Cape Frio. St. Sebastians was the fourth place appointed; but as he had changed his whole plan in remaining off Bahia, I thought it just as likely that he would touch first at St. Catharines, the fifth place of rendezvous, as at St. Sebastians.

      On the 12th, gave chace to and spoke the Portuguese corvette, Calypso, of 32 guns, on a cruize; caused them to send a boat, with an officer, on board the Essex; and then sent lieutenant Downes to ascertain, to a certainty, whether she was a Portuguese vessel: both ships prepared for action until 8 o'clock, when he returned.

      The Portuguese officer could not be persuaded that we were Americans; and left us, as I am convinced, under the belief that we were English.

      On the 13th, spoke a Portuguese brig, from Rio, bound to Oporto, out 29 days. As this vessel had left Rio long before the convoy, I still entertained some hopes of falling in with it.

      From the 12th until the 17th the weather continued remarkable fine; between those periods we saw and spoke but few vessels, and they Portuguese coasters, chiefly from Rio Grande, bound to the north, with jerked beef. From those vessels we could obtain no information respecting the enemy, that could be of any service to us. The crew continue in fine health, except an old man, named Edward Sweeny, who has long been affected by a pulmonary complaint and the stone, This man was upwards of 64 years old; and I should not have brought him to sea with me, had he not generally been useful in tending the stock.

      Since I have left the United States, the crew have been on two-thirds allowance of salt provisions, generally on half allowance of bread, and full allowance of rum; and every month I caused them to be paid the amount due them for undrawn rations. To this regulation they submitted cheerfully; not a murmur was

heard from any person on board. I now, however, found it necessary to reduce the allowance of rum, in the same proportion as the salt provisions, when every man in the ship refused to receive any of that precious liquor, unless he could get full allowance; stating that when there should be no more on board, they would willingly go without; but so long as it lasted, they wished their full allowance. However, as there was but a small quantity in the ship, and believing that a sudden privation of it altogether, would be the cause of producing dejection and sickness among them, I determined not to indulge them in their wishes; and directed, that the grog-tub should be upset in fifteen minutes after they were called to grog; the consequence was, that every man hastened to the tub, for fear or losing his allowance; and after this, no further complaint was made.

      Since leaving Port Praya we had had no opportunity of getting refreshments; our water was getting short, and it became necessary to ascertain what prospect we had of getting a supply of salt provisions, bread, and rum. I therefore determined to proceed for the island of St. Catharines, and with a view of enabling the officers and crew to provide themselves with such articles as they might need, I distributed among them a large proportion of the prize money taken from the Nocton. Giving it, however, to the seamen, before they had an opportunity of spending it, (although it had the effect of producing cheerfulness among them,) was attended with evil consequences, as it introduced gambling, which was the cause of some thefts. I, however, soon put a stop to it, by signifying that he who asked for, or paid a gambling debt, should be punished; and that all monies, staked in gambling, should be forfeited to the informer, whose name should remain secret.

      On the 18th spoke a Portuguese vessel from Rio Janeiro, who informed me that the Montague had sailed on the 6th of the month, in pursuit, as was reported, of an American frigate and sloop of war, off Bahia; and in confirmation of this sent me a newspaper, mentioning her departure. He could not tell me whether the admiral had gone to sea in her or not. He was disposed, however, to give me all the information in his power on

the subject, as he was fully impressed with the belief of our being an English frigate, from the River of Plate. I was desirous of ascertaining whether the admiral had sailed in the ship, as my conduct would in a great measure be governed by that circumstance. Had he sailed in the Montague, I should have calculated on having more time to remain at St. Catharines before being blockaded, as I did not suppose that the reinforcements, which I knew were expected from England, would be enabled to sail in pursuit of me, even if they had heard of my being at that place, before receiving his instructions. I, however, determined to remain as short a time as possible, and hoped to get out before they could hear of me. Our latitude on the meridian of this day was 26° 46' 43" S., long. by chronometer. 47° 44' 58" W.

      On the 19th made the island of St. Catharines, bearing S.W. and stood for the passage between the East Point and the island of Alvarade, until 8 at night, when, being at the distance of between 12 and 15 miles, I lay off and on until morning, when we ran in with light winds from the north-east. As I had no person on board who knew any thing of the place, I was compelled to go entirely by the lead; therefore kept it constantly going, from the time we first got soundings in 70 fathoms, until we anchored in 6; and nothing could have been more regular or gradual than their diminution. The bottom is also remarkable; for, from the time of first striking soundings, until you get inside of Alvarade in 10 fathom water, it is a blue and tenacious mud, and so soft that the lead would sink a considerable distance into it; and from thence to the anchorage, it was composed of fine sand mixed with mud. With these soundings, and keeping in the middle of the bay, I ran up until 2 1/2 miles from the principal fortification, which stands upon an island, at the distance of about one hundred yards from the continent. I then anchored, with the middle of the large barracks in the fort bearing, by compass, N. 3/4 E. distant 3/4 of a mile.

      Immediately on anchoring, I dispatched a boat with lieutenant Downes, to inform the commander of the fort, that we were Americans, and in want of supplies, and to come to an understanding about a salute. He returned in about two hours with

offers of civilities, and a promise from the commander, that he would send an officer and pilot on board, in the morning, to take the ship nearer in, and in a better place for taking in our water, &c. In the morning, about 9 o'clock, an officer came on board with the pilot, and we got under way, with a light and baffling wind from the southward, and the tide in our favour, which generally runs here about 1 1/2 knots. After making two tacks the wind and tide both failed us. We were then about two miles from the place I wished to anchor in; and being anxious to get the vessel secured as soon as possible, and finding that our boats could give us very little assistance in towing, I put in operation an invention of mine for propelling a ship in a calm; and in three quarters of an hour brought her to an anchor, at the back of the fort, and opposite the most convenient watering-place, in 6 fathoms water. This contrivance consists of two floating anchors, six feet square, which are worked on both sides of the ship, by hauling lines from the spritsail-yard, and a spar rigged across the stern. The line from the spritsail-yard is made fast to the upper corner of the anchor; and when hauled on, it brings the anchor forward, skimming along on the surface of the water. When it is let go, the anchor falls, by means of the weight attached to it, in a vertical position; and as it is slung something in the manner of a log-chip, and the rope to the stern made fast to the spar, it is dragged aft, propelling the ship, in proportion to the force applied to the drag-rope. A ship's crew, consisting of 300 men, will drag her forward in a calm, with this contrivance, at the rate of two miles per hour.

      On passing the fort, we fired a salute of 13 guns, which was returned by an equal number.

      When the ship was anchored, I went on shore, to fix on the watering-place. The first I was shown did not please me, although I was informed that it was the place preferred by all ships for filling their water. It was on the continent, about 50 yards to the southward of a beach, about 100 yards in length; near which were a few huts. The water was excellent; the stream was very clear, and ran from the mountain; but it was impossible to get the casks on shore to fill them, in consequence of the rocks piled

up before it. It would have been necessary to fill them in the boat, and as we had nearly all our water to fill, it would in that manner have taken a month to have watered our ship. The guide then took me to a small sandy beach, farther to the north, and directly opposite the loft, where we found a watering-place, the most convenient of any I ever met with. A small and limpid stream ran from the mountain. The sea had thrown a bank of sand up before its mouth, and formed a small lake of about 20 yards in circumference, and 5 or 6 feet deep. It was not necessary to roll the casks five yards. We had a beautiful beach to land on, and for rafting our casks. There are no houses in the neighbourhood. The woods are impenetrable. There is no possibility of the people straggling from their work, nor any inducement for their doing so; and what is a great consideration, they cannot get rum. There is one evil, however, that it is necessary to guard against, in order to get good water here: when the tide is high, the sea-water forces its way through the loose sand; and while the water on the surface, and for three feet deep, is perfectly fresh, that at the bottom is as salt as the ocean; by dipping it up carefully, however, or taking your water higher up the stream, you may at all times get it fresh. We, in two days and a half, completed watering our ship; and got as much wood on board, as we had consumed since our departure from the United States. The officers and men, in the mean time, provided themselves with hogs, fowls, plantains, yams, and onions, in considerable quantities, from the boats along side; but their anxiety to procure them, caused the Portuguese to take advantage of their necessities, and ask the most extravagant prices for every thing, which some of our people had the folly to give, as if their stock of money was inexhaustible. This made my interference necessary, as those who were not disposed to squander their money were likely to go without refreshments. I first began by punishing a man for paying a dollar for a dozen of rotten eggs; and next would not permit the boats to sell, after they had come along side, until the price of every article was established as follows: three fowls, one dollar; nine water-melons for the same sum; one dollar for a turkey; and very [sic] thing else in the same ratio. After

this, I kept persons to observe and report to me such as paid improper prices; and by these means brought the market down to tolerably fair rates. Nothing could be procured on shore, as every thing had been purchased up by the boat-men. Two of my boats were gone a whole day, in search of stock and vegetables, and returned at night with only one pig, a few yams and bananas this was all they could procure. Fresh beef was cheap, but we were not enabled to give our people more than two messes of it, on account of our disappointment in not getting it from town, where we had sent for it; as we were informed, on our arrival, that it could not be procured otherwise.

      On the 21st I dispatched lieutenant Wilmer to the town of St. Catharines, in one of the ship's boats, accompanied by lieutenant Gamble, Mr. Shaw, purser, doctor Hoffman, and midshipman Feltus. I directed lieutenant Wilmer to wait on the governor, don Luis Mauricio da Silvia, with my respects, and to thank him for the civilities I had met with, and gave him orders to return if possible the same day. I gave orders to Mr. Shaw to endeavour to procure a supply of beef, flour, bread, and rum; to remain in town until it was ready, hire a vessel, and bring it down. The weather was squally, with heavy rains, when they started, as indeed was the case the whole time we lay here. I felt uneasy that the boat did not return in the evening, but hoped, as the weather had grown much worse, that they had determined on remaining that night; however, at two o'clock in the morning, lieutenants Wilmer and Gamble came into my cabin almost naked, and shivering with the wet and cold, and informed me that the boat had been upset in a squall; but that all hands had saved themselves, after having been four hours on her bottom. They fortunately were to windward of an island standing in the middle of the bay, where they drifted on shore and righted the boat. They lost all their clothes, as well as every thing they had purchased in town, to the amount of 6 or 700 dollars, but were so fortunate as to find next day, among the rocks of the island, every article that would float. Lieutenant Wilmer informed me, that there would be great difficulties in procuring the articles required; that the quantity of bread wanting could not be procured in a month; that

there were great difficulties in procuring a boat to bring them down; and that he apprehended there would be great delays. I immediately ordered my small gig-boat to be prepared, and in one hour and three quarters I landed in the town, although the distance, from the ship, was 13 miles. I remained there two hours, to make such arrangement as were necessary; and was about the same time returning to the ship. Next morning, Mr. Shaw came down, with five puncheons of rum; fresh beef for two days; a quantity of onions; and a few bags of flour; which were all that could be procured. The beef was spoiled before it came on board, and we were obliged to throw it overboard; and shortly afterwards, an enormous shark, at least twenty-five feet in length, rose along side, with a quarter of a bullock in his mouth. It would be impossible to describe the horror that this voracious animal excited. Several of our seamen, and most of the officers, had been swimming along side, the evening previous. A man would scarcely have been a mouthful for him. When he first made his appearance, every one was impressed with a belief, that it was a young whale.

      During our stay here, we were constantly attended by an officer from the fort, who was indefatigable in his attentions towards us. His name was Sabine, and his rank was that of serjeant-major. He was in every respect subject to my directions, and delicacy prevented me (whatever might have been his expectations) from offering him any compensation. I gave him, however, at my departure, 40 dollars for the pilotage of the ship.

      I waited on the commander of the fort the day after I anchored. He was a very old man; his name was don Alexandre Jose de Azedido. He received me with great civility, and, as has been generally the case with the Portuguese, expressed great desire that our cruize might be successful. The fort has been erected abort 70 years; there arc mounted on it 15 or 20 honey-combed guns of different calibres. Vegetation has been so rapid, that the walls of the fortress are nearly hid by the trees that have shot up in every part. The gun-carriages are in a very rotten state, and the garrison consists of about 20 half-naked soldiers

      There is a church within the fortress; and, as a substitute for a bell, is suspended at the door, part of a broken crow-bar; and at the entrance of the commandant's apartments is the stocks (for the punishment of the soldiers), which, from their greasy, polished appearance, I have reason to believe are kept in constant use. There are three forts for the protection of the bay, of which this is the principal; there is one on a high point on the island of St. Catharines, and another on the island where our boat landed after upsetting, called Great Rat Island. About 1 1/2 leagues below the chief fortress, on the starboard hand going into the bay, behind a rocky point, are the houses for the accommodation of those employed in the whale fishery, as well as the stores, boilers, and tanks to contain the oil. The crown has the exclusive privilege of fishing here. About 500 men are engaged in it. About the same number of whales are taken annually in the bay, where they come to calve, and are then perfectly helpless. None but small boats are engaged in taking them. The oil is deposited in an immense tank, for the purpose, formed in a rock, and is from thence transported to Portugal and elsewhere.

      To this place, after the return of Mr. Shaw from town, I went to endeavour to procure a quantity of jerked beef for the use of the crew, having heard of the arrival of a vessel with a cargo of it. On my way I met a small vessel four days from Rio Janeiro, and went on board to learn the news. The captain informed me, that two days before he sailed, an American corvette, mounting 11 guns of a side, had arrived there, a prize to the Montague; she had been in company with a large frigate, and was captured off the Albrothas shoal: the Montague was left in pursuit of the frigate. He also informed me, that the day before he sailed, a British frigate and two brigs of war had arrived from England; that two American schooners had been captured and sent in there; that a Portuguese brig of war had arrived from the Cape of Good Hope, and brought intelligence that a British 60 gun ship was to sail the day after her for Rio Janeiro, and that several British ships of war were daily expected from England. He stated also, that news had been brought that the

Americans had captured convoy of Indiamen; and that a packet had been taken by them from Rio, with a great deal of specie in.

      Feeling confident that the captured vessel was the Hornet, and having strong apprehensions of being blockaded, and indeed attacked by a superior force in this port, knowing the little respect the British have for the Portuguese, I determined on getting to sea again with all possible expedition. I therefore returned to the ship, made a signal for every person to repair on board, hove up, and dropped down below the fort, where I anchored, to give the officers an opportunity of getting the clothes on board, which were all on shore to wash; and at 8 o'clock at night, on the 25th, got under way with the loss of one anchor (the cable parted), and proceeded for sea, leaving on shore Joseph Hawley and Allan Jones, who absented themselves from the boat. Previous to my departure, I gave permission for five of my prisoners to proceed to Rio Janeiro, in a small Portuguese schooner belonging to the king, that was to sail next day, to wit: captain Charles Helt, John Haywood, mate; John Martin, Jonas Walker, and Thos. Wailey, seamen. During the night, Edward Sweeny departed this life, and Samuel Gross unfortunately fell from the main-yard while loosening the main-sail, and in a few hours ended his existence: his loss was much regretted by us all, as he was one of the best men we had in the ship, and highly esteemed by every person on board.

      We were clear of all the islands about 4 o'clock on the morning of the 26th. It was then necessary to decide promptly on my future proceedings, as our provisions were getting short; I called on the purser for a report of them, and found that we had but three months' bread at half allowance; there was no port on this coast where we could procure a supply, without the certainty of capture, or blockade (which I considered as bad); to attempt to return to the United States, at a season of the year when our coast would be swarming with the enemy's cruizers, would be running too much risk, and would be going diametrically opposite to my instructions. I was perfectly at a loss now where to find the commodore, as, in remaining before Bahia, he had departed from his original intentions, and had already disappointed

me at three rendezvous; the state of my provisions would not admit of going off St. Helena's to intercept the returning Indiamen, nor would my force justify the proceeding; to remain, however, longer here, where I could get no supplies, would be a folly, and it became absolutely necessary to depart from the letter of my instructions; I therefore determined to pursue that course which seemed to me best calculated to injure the enemy, and would enable me to prolong my cruize: this could only be done by going into a friendly port, where I could increase my supplies without the danger of blockade, and the first place that presented itself to my mind, was the port of Conception, on the coast of Chili. The season, to be sure, was far advanced for doubling Cape horn; our stock of provisions was short, and the ship in other respects not well supplied with stores for so long a cruize; but there appeared no other choice left for me, except capture, starvation, or blockade; this course, of all others, appeared to me also the most justifiable, as it accorded with the views of the honourable secretary of the navy, as well as those of my immediate commander. Before the declaration of war, I wrote a letter to the former, containing a plan for annoying the enemy's commerce in the Pacific ocean, which was approved of by him; and prior to my sailing, com. Bainbridge requested my opinion, as to the best mode of annoying the enemy. I laid before him the same plan, and received his answer approving of the same, and signifying his intentions to pursue it, provided we could get supplies of provisions.

      My stock of provisions, agreeably to the purser's report, was as follows: 184 barrels of beef; 114 barrels of pork, 21,763 pounds of bread, 1741 gallons of spirits, 201 gallons of vinegar, 108 gallons of molasses, and 10 boxes of spermaceti and 17 of tallow candles; which, on two thirds allowance of beef, and half allowance of bread, other articles in the same proportion as the beef, were sufficient to serve us as follows

Beef,	36	weeks and	5 days
Pork,	22	do.	5  do.
Bread,	22	do.	1  do.
Spirits,	13	do.	?  do.

      I calculated that it would not take me more than two months and a half to get round to Conception, where I was confident of procuring an abundant supply of jerked beef, fish, flour, and wine. I calculated, that the prizes we should make in the Pacific, would supply us with such articles of naval stores as we should require; and although there was considerable responsibility attached to the proceeding, and the undertaking was greater than had yet been engaged in by any single ship on similar pursuits, time did not admit of delay, and, immediately on getting to sea, I directed my course to the southward.

      The intelligence given me by the captain of the Portuguese vessel, was such as I could place the utmost confidence in, for his description of the captured vessel answered exactly to that of the Hornet. He stated to me, that she had been cruizing off Bahia, in company with a very large frigate, to intercept a British sloop of war at that place; but that she had separated from the frigate, and was bound to the southward, when she was captured off the Albrothas shoal. He further stated, that the American frigate had sunk a British frigate, after a desperate engagement, in which the British vessel had lost her masts.

      Before I proceed farther, however, it is necessary that I should say something of St. Catharines.

      This island has been settled by the Portuguese about 70 years: the town, which appears to be in rather a thriving state, is situated on that point of the island nearest the continent, and may contain about 10,000 inhabitants; here the captain-general resides. It appears to be a place of considerable business: several brigs and schooners were lying before the town, and the stores were numerous, and well supplied with dry goods, which were sold cheap. The town is pleasantly situated; the bay before it apparently commodious; and the people industrious. It is defended by two small forts, one opposite the middle of the town on a small island, joined to it by a causeway; the other, on a point projecting towards the continent. The houses are generally neatly built, and the country at the back of the town is in a state of considerable improvement. But

nothing can exceed the beauty of the great bay to the north, formed by the island of St. Catharines and the continent: there is every variety to give beauty to the scene; handsome villages and houses built around, shores which gradually ascend in mountains, covered to their summit with trees, which remain in constant verdure; a climate always temperate and healthy; small islands scattered here and there, equally covered with verdure; the soil extremely productive; all combine to render it, in appearance, the most delightful country in the world. We arrived, unfortunately, in the worst season for fruit; there were no oranges to be had now, but in the proper season for them, I was informed, they were to be had in the greatest abundance, and for a mere trifle.

      The people of this place appear to be the most happy of those who live under the Portuguese government, probably because the more they are distant from it, the less they are subject to its impositions and oppressions; still, however, they complain. There arc two regiments of troops at St. Catharines: if provisions are wanted for them, an officer goes to the houses of the peasantry, seizes on their cattle or grain, and gives them a bill on the government, for which they never receive payment.

      The peasantry are well clad, comfortable and cheerful in their appearance; the women are handsome and graceful in their manners; the men have the character of being extremely jealous of them, and I believe they have sufficient reason to be so.

      Being desirous of determining the latitude and longitude of of [sic] St. Catharines from observation, and the old fortress on the high point of that island being the best situation, I communicated to Sabine my wishes of sending Mr. Adams there for the purpose of taking the necessary distances and altitudes, and requested him to write a line to the officer commanding the fort, explaining our object, which was done; but the stupid fool, who commanded the fort, supposing he had come with some other views, or not wishing to accommodate us, refused him the permission requested; he, however, was enabled to effect his object on the beach, and the result was as follows;

      Our anchorage, lat. 27° 26' 10" S.; long. 48° 2' 20" W.
      The fort at Ponite Groce, 27° 24' 46" S.; long. 47° 55' 30" W.

      The N.E. point of St. Catharines, Ponte de Bottle, lat. 27° 46' 49" S.; long. 47° 42' 48" W.

      Variation of the compass 6° 27' E.

      On liberating capt. Helt, and the men accompanying him, I caused them to sign an obligation not to serve against the United States during the existing war, unless regularly exchanged. I gave to capt. Helt a letter for the British admiral at Rio Janeiro, and another for the American minister, which he promised, on oath, to deliver.

      To Sabine I gave a letter, to be delivered to the commander of any American frigate that should put in to St. Catharines; he gave me assurances that it should be delivered: the letter ran as follows;

      Your letter of the 3d December has been received. Yeo has been punctual. I have taken but two vessels. It is much to be regretted that we have not yet met. I have just heard of the capture of the Hornet. Should we not meet by the 1st of April, be assured that, by pursuing my own course, I shall have been actuated by views to the good of the service, and that there will have been an absolute necessity for my doing so.

      As an American, I have been treated well here; I am afraid to trust more to this letter January 20th, 1813

      St. Catharines has been the usual stopping place for all American vessels engaged in the southern whale fishery, on their return to the United States: four fishing vessels had left it for America, about one month before I arrived; and there received the first intelligence of the war.

      Vessels should always moor here, as the irregularities of the currents will otherwise soon occasion them to foul their anchors. The tide enters to the north and south, and rises about 4 1/2 feet. The usual anchorage for large vessels is abut the spot occupied by us; vessels drawing not more than 16 feet water, can go up to the town

      The whole of the 26th, we had fresh gales from the southward, which I took advantage of to get a good offing. Saw a small Portuguese schooner, bound to the N.E., but did not speak her. On the 27th, the wind shifted to the E.; but on account of a heavy head sea, we were not able to make much sail; but towards the afternoon we had all our light sails out, steering S.S.W., the weather remarkably fine, and our rate from 8 to 9 miles per hour.

      An alarming disease now made its appearance among the crew; 10 or 15 of them were suddenly attacked by violent pains in the stomach and cholera morbus. The surgeons were first of opinion, that it proceeded from the bad rum procured at St. Catharines, under the impression that it was strongly impregnated with lead, the disease having every symptom of that known under the name of the painter's cholic. Their speedy recovery, however, soon removed this opinion, and caused us to attribute it to the proper cause, the too sudden change from salt provisions to fresh, and the overloading the stomach with unripe fruit and vegetables.

      The weather continued fine, and the wind fair, until the 28th; the colour of the water indicated soundings; our course between S. by W. and S.S.W.; time was too precious for us to heave to to sound. Our lat. on the meridian of this day, 34° 58' 09" S., long. by chronometer 51° 11' 37" W.; variation of the compass 12° 49' E. At 9 P. M. the wind began to haul around to the southward, and at midnight, after sharp lightning, fixed itself at S. by E., and freshened up so as to compel us to send down our royal yards, and double reef our top-sails. The cold began now to be sensibly felt, and woollen clothing to be more esteemed than it had been for some time past; the old jackets and trowsers

that had been lying about the ship, were carefully collected, as some suspicions of my intentions of doubling Cape Horn, had got among the crew. Believing that we should have but little use for our light sails, until we doubled the cape, I caused the sky-sails, royal studding-sails, and such other sails as are only fit for tropical weather, to be unbent and put below.

      In the course of our run, since leaving St. Catharines, we have frequently discovered those yellow tracks in the ocean, extending for leagues, and called by seamen the sperm of whales; whether they attribute it to the proper cause, I cannot say. I am informed, however, that whales have been known to disgorge large quantities of a yellow substance, which floats on the surface of the water; and I think it not unlikely, that it may be this we so often met with. To me, it had the appearance of dirty oil; and the water did not appear coloured more than two or three feet deep. All the tracks we met with extended in a line with the coast, and as far as the sight could extend; and from this circumstance, if I had not been well assured, that they were caused by whales, I should have believed, that it had been produced by a scum, brought from the coast, by currents; our distance, however, and their extreme regularity, would serve, in some measure, to destroy this belief; besides, it does not seem likely that one tide would produce more than one of those appearances; whereas, we frequently met three, and sometimes more, only a mile or two distant, in lines parallel to each other. They seldom were more than the width of the ship, and have much the appearance of shoals at first sight.

      From the 28th January until the 3d February, the weather was very unsettled; and during that time we had repeated calms, and heavy blows, from every part of the compass, and frequently accompanied with rain. Indeed the eclipse of the sun, to take place on the 1st, gave us reason to expect unsettled weather and I had taken measures to prepare the ship to meet the worst, by sending down our royal-masts and rigging; unreaving all our running rigging, not absolutely necessary; sending every heavy article out of the tops, as well as all the light sails; such as royals, stay-sails, top-gallant studding-sails, &c.; and diminish-

ing, its every other respect, the weight aloft. I also caused all the shot to be put below, except six to each gun, on the gun-deck; removed the guns from the extremities to amidships; set up the main rigging; and bent the storm-stay-sails.

      As we had lost an anchor at St. Catharines, from the badness of our cables, I directed a strict examination into the state of the the[sic] two bowers and sheet-cables; and, on a careful survey, one half of both bowers were found not trust-worthy; I, therefore, directed them to be cut, which left about 60 fathoms of each cable; and, with a view of removing the difficulty that would be occasioned by their being too short, in the event of mooring, I directed the larboard bower to be spliced to the end of the sheet-cable, and kept the other end ready for bending on to the sheet-anchor; this arrangement enabled us to let go three anchors, in case of necessity.

      To guard against future wants, it now became necessary to economise in every thing that related to the ship's stores; I therefore gave directions, that nothing whatever, of the most trifling nature, should be issued from the store-rooms, without my orders; and as the weather began to get cool, and the wind-sails not necessary for the comfort of the crew, I directed them to be scrubbed, and put below. I also discontinued fumigating with vinegar; believing that it would be more conducive to health, to issue it, and let it be used as part of the ration. And with a view of guarding still further against that dreadful scourge, the scurvy, I gave the strictest orders to the cook, not to permit any person to use the slush from the cask, for the purpose of frying their bread, &c., as this practice is very common among seamen; and on board of many ships, but particularly captain Vancouver's, the disease has been traced to this cause. We have now been three months from the United States; in the course of which time, we have been but seven days in port. Our crew, of course, has benefitted but little from fresh provisions and vegetables, or breathing the air from the land; yet we have not had the slightest symptom of scurvy on board. To be sure, the fruit they brought with them from Praya, and the onions from St. Catharines, were powerful antiscorbutics, and served to correct the effect of salt pro-

visions, yet, with a more abundant supply of such articles, ships have frequently been afflicted with this disease, after being a less at sea than the Essex. Our crew had now perfectly recovered from the dysentery, with which they were attacked after leaving St. Catharines; and we had but one man on board, seriously ill; and he was a marine, afflicted by a pulmonary complaint. Indeed the extraordinary health of the crew surprises me (considering the privations they have suffered since the cruize commenced), and I can only attribute it to the steady attention to cleanliness, and to their comfort, and to their cheerful disposition. No doubt, the good provisions and the excellent water we have been blessed with, have tended greatly to promote it.

      The albatrosses, and other birds that frequent high latitudes, now began to assemble around us, but in small numbers; many experiments were made to catch them, but they all failed; we also saw two whales. The colour of the water continued to indicate soundings; but we could not reach the bottom with 160 fathoms of line; rock-weed was also seen.

      On the morning of the 3d, the morning appeared more settled; the sun rose clear; a breeze sprung up from the northwest, and had every appearance of continuing. All sail was set to the best advantage; and we steered, by compass, S.S.W. 1/2 W. By meridian our rate was increased to 9 knots per hour. I flattered myself with the expectation of a speedy and pleasant run to the Streights of le Maire; our latitude was 42° 14' 30" south; longitude, 59° 9' 51" west; and the variation of the compass, 14° 52' east. With a view of relieving the anxiety of my crew, I addressed to them the following note, which produced the happiest effect, as it diffused a general joy throughout the ship, and served to convince me, that although the times of many of my best men were near expiring, I had nothing to apprehend from their disaffection

SAILORS AND MARINES!

      A large increase of the enemy's force compels us to abandon a coast, that will neither afford us security nor supplies; nor are there any inducements for a longer continuance there. We will,

therefore, proceed to annoy them, where we are least expected. What was never performed, by a single ship, we will attempt. The Pacific ocean affords us many friendly ports. The unprotected British commerce, on the coast of Chili, Peru, and Mexico, will give you an abundant supply of wealth; and the girls of the Sandwich islands, shall reward you for your sufferings during the passage around Cape Horn.
                              (Signed)                                    D. PORTER.
                  February 3, 1813

      I now made inquiries into the state of the purser's slops, and found, to my regret, that we had but a small number of shoes; and, as every man in the ship was in want of a pair, I determined not to issue any until we arrived in a more southern latitude, that I might be enabled to judge, who were most in want; I directed, however, one pair of woollen stockings to be issued to such as required them.

      At about 2 P.M., to our great regret, the wind hauled around to the S.W., and there remained, and served as an additional lesson to us, how little dependence is to be placed in the appearance of the weather in this latitude.

      The whole of the 4th, the wind continued between S.W. and W. by S., with fresh gates; and from this time, until the 10th, the wind was variable, blowing fresh from every point of the compass, but prevailing most from the S.W.; occasionally blowing so hard, as to reduce us to our storm stay-sail, attended generally with a very disagreeable cross sea. In the course of this interval, little occurred worth notice on board, except the bursting of the rudder coat, which occasioned our shipping a great deal of water in the ward-room; and, as I saw no possibility of securing it at sea, determined me to make the first convenient port for the purpose of repairing this damage. In every other respect, we had got the ship prepared to meet the bad weather we had reason to expect, in doubling Cape Horn; and, with a view of keeping her from straining as much as possible, I got all our spare spars from the spar to the gun-deck, and struck down two long twelve pounders from the forecastle.

      In the heaviest blows and worst sea we have yet had, I find the ship to be remarkably easy and comfortable.

      We generally kept on the edge of soundings, in from 60 to 75 fathoms of water; and, although the frequent ripples indicated strong currents, they did not make any sensible difference in our run, except on the 8th and 9th, in lat. 47° 36' S., when we were set 24 miles to the westward. When on soundings, we frequently met masses of a weed, called kelp, and of sufficient buoyancy to bear the albatrosses, and other birds which kept about them; but we never met with them off soundings. We saw a few whales, but none approached us nearer than a mile.

      The northerly winds have much the character of the S.W. winds on the coast of North America, and are generally accompanied with hazy weather. The S.W. winds are clear and cold, and bear no slight resemblance to the N.W. winds of the same coast. The appearance of albatrosses and other birds, generally preceded a southerly wind, but few were to be seen when the winds came from the northward. No certain guide, however, can be given in this changable climate, to enable you to judge correctly of winds and weather; the finest appearances were frequently the immediate precursors of a fresh gale and unpleasant weather, which was as unexpectedly succeeded by calms and sunshine.

      On the morning of the 11th, the weather was remarkably fine, the air clear and serene, the sea smooth, and the wind fair, with every appearance of a continuation. Our lat. 51° 13' S.; long. 63° 53' W.; and depth of water, 74 fathoms, fine gray sand. I embraced the opportunity offered by the weather, for repairing our rudder-coat, and succeeded perfectly; and now, having no cause to go into port, I determined to make the best of my way round Cape Horn, and apprehensive of some difficulties in going through the Streights of Le Maire, I determined to go to the eastward of Staten Land. The latter part of the day, the wind hauled round from the northward, and the weather became extremely hazy, which I regretted extremely, as it prevented our getting an observation; the breeze was, however, extremely fine and increasing; I therefore felt confident of a short run to Staten Land, and

steered away more to the eastward; we had studding-sails set on both sides, and our rate of sailing from 7 to 9 miles per hour.

      On the 13th, the wind continued to increase, and the weather became still more hazy, with rain. At meridian, I calculated that Cape St. John's, the eastern part of Staten Land, bore S. 1/2 W. distant 35 miles; and although the thickness of the weather prevented our seeing more than a mile ahead, a confidence of being able to see the land in sufficient time to haul-off to clear it, induced me to continue my run; but at 4 o'clock, the appearance of a strong current, which was indicated by a violent ripple, and seeing an unusual quantity of kelp, some of which, as though it had been dead and drying on the beach for some time; and the appearance, also, of considerable flocks of birds, much resembling geese, induced me to believe, that I must be very near the shore. I therefore caused a good look-out to be kept, took in top-gallant-sails, double-reefed the top-sails, furled the main-sail, and had every thing prepared, in case it should be necessary, to haul our wind; and at half past six, I had cause to rejoice that I had taken such precautions, as breakers were discovered, bearing E.S.E. and S.E., distant about three-fourths of a mile, and in a few minutes afterwards, the land appeared in the same direction; we consequently hauled on a wind to the eastward, and sounded in 45 fathoms water. We had now approached so close to the breakers, with the hope of weathering them, that we had not room to wear; there was a tremendous sea running, the ship driving forecastle under; no chance of weathering the land, which could now be seen a-head, bearing E. by N., running out in small lumps, and surrounded with dreadful breakers. Our only hopes of safety was, in getting the ship in stays; the mainsail was set with the utmost expedition, and we were so fortunate as to succeed: after getting the ship about, the jib and spanker were set, and the top-gallant-yards sent down; but, in a few moments, the jib was blown to pieces. My first impression was, that we had been set by the currents to the westward, into the bay formed by the Cape St. Vincent and the coast of Terra del Fuego; and, as the gale was increasing, and night fast approaching, the thick weather continuing, the wind directly on shore, with a tremendous

sea, I saw no prospect of saving the ship, but by carrying a heave press of sail to keep off the lee shore, until the wind changed. We kept the lead constantly going, and found our soundings very regular at 45 fathoms, rocky and coral bottom. After standing to the W.N.W. about an hour, water began to grow very smooth, which could only be occasioned by a sudden change of the current; and whales appeared along side the ship: this gave me hopes of being to the eastward of St. Vincent, and in the streights of Le Maire; a sharp look-out was kept for the land, and at half past seven, to our unspeakable joy, the land was discovered a-head, and on both bows, distant about a mile. No doubts now remained, as to our being in the streights; I therefore directed the helm to be put a-weather, and made all sail to the southward, keeping the coast of Terra del Fuego close a-board, and as we undoubtedly had the first of the tide, we were swept through with great rapidity: and at 9 o'clock we were clear of the streights.

      The extreme haziness of the weather prevented my making many observations on the appearance of the land; it, however, had not that dreary aspect I was prepared to expect: the hills appeared clothed with verdure, and the coast seemed indented with deep bays, which, from the accounts of former navigators, I have no doubt, are well calculated to afford shelter to vessels navigating those seas, and engaged in the whale fishery. Indeed, it was the source of much regret to me, and to all on board, that the state of the weather prevented our having a better view of a coast, that has excited so much the attention of mankind, from the description given by the most celebrated navigators; and had circumstances permitted, I should have anchored in the bay of Good Success, so minutely described by the celebrated Cook.

      The land we first made and attempted to weather, was Cape San Diego, on the coast of Staten Land: the appearance was dreary beyond description; perhaps, however, the critical situation of the ship, the foaming of the breakers, the violence of the wind, and the extreme haziness of the weather, may (all combined) have served to render the appearance more dreadful; but from the impression made by its appearance then, and from

the description given by others, I am induced to believe, that no part of the world presents a more horrible aspect than Staten Land. The breakers appeared to lie about half a mile from the shore; while we were standing off, the whole sea, from the violence of the current, appeared in a foam of breakers, and nothing but the apprehension of immediate destruction could have induced me to have ventured through it; but, thanks to the excellent qualities of the ship, we received no material injury, although we were pitching our forecastle under with a heavy press of sail, and the violence of the sea was such, that it was impossible for any man to stand without grasping something to support himself. Those only can have an idea of our tormenting anxiety and dread, from the time we discovered the breakers, until we made the land of Terra del Fuego, who have, like us, supposed themselves in danger of shipwreck, on a dreary, inhospitable, and ironbound coast, inhabited only by savages, where there was scarcely a hope, that one of the crew would survive the fury of the storm and waves, or, even if he succeeded in getting on shore alive, only to fall a victim to the merciless inhabitants of this gloomy region; nor can he conceive the excess of our joy in discovering the land, unless he, in as instant, has been snatched from the danger of destruction which seemed pending over him. Our fears and subsequent joys may, however, be more easily imagined than described. Had we been, as we supposed, to the northward of Cape St. Vincent, it would have required our utmost exertions, under the heaviest press of canvas, to have kept the ship from going on shore; and the loss of a single spar, or the splitting of a top-sail, would have sealed our destruction. Our making the breakers in the manner we did, proved most fortunate, for had we passed through the streights without discovering the land, (which would have been the case, had we been one mile farther north,) I should have supposed myself to the east of Staten Land, and after running the distance which I believed necessary to clear Cape St. John's, I should have steered a course that would have entangled us in the night with the rocks and breakers about Cape Horn; and had this happened, thick and hazy as the weather continued, our destruction would have been inevitable, as we could not

have seen the danger one hundred yards from the ship, even should we have been apprehensive, and on the look-out for it, which would not have been the case.

      As I before remarked, the soundings between Cape San Diego and Terra del Fuego, were regular, as to depth, but the bottom differed in a slight degree. The first cast of the lead near San Diego, we had small pieces of rock, and red and white coral; when at the distance of two or three miles, we had small red and white coral, in its appearance as if it had been some time detached from the rocks; but, when mid-channel, small round pieces of clear red and white coral, bearing the appearance of pebbles, and evidently owing their form to the violent friction occasioned by the rapid current of the streights; there was not the slightest mixture of sand or any other matter with them; every piece was about the size of a small pea, and, with the exception of colour, as uniform in their appearance; they were different from any soundings I had heretofore met with, and I doubt if such are to be found in any other part of the world.

      But to return to my narrative. At 9 o'clock we were clear of the Streights of Le Maire, and in that part of the ocean so celebrated and dreaded for the violent gales and tremendous and irregular seas which prevail. At this moment, I could not resist those lively sensations of anxiety that rushed on my mind, when I drew the comparison between the state of my ship, and those who preceded me, in attempting the passage round Cape Horn. I sailed from America on a very short notice, as may be seen by the preceding part of this Journal, and immediately after my return from a cruize in a tempestuous climate, off Newfoundland. I had not time to repair the damages the ship there sustained; her bowsprit and sprit-sail yard were sprung; her fore-topsail yard gone in the slings and fished; one of the pintles of her rudder loose; her water-ways open and leaky, from violent straining, and could not be caulked, from the peculiar manner her guns were mounted; her ballast so shifted, as to give her two streaks heel; a leak in the bows, which we have not yet been able to find; only one good suit of sails in the ship; and chief of the running, and some of the standing rigging worn out and not trust-worthy;

and the most of our small spars sprung; added to this, the ship herself was 14 years old, and had not been coppered or received any repairs of importance for upwards of five years: these circumstances would not prevent her cruizing a long time in a moderate climate, but were now great considerations, when she had to double Cape Horn. She had now been constantly at sea (with the exception of the few days we were at Port Praya and St. Catharines) near four months; her crew had, during the whole of that time, been on short allowance of provisions and water, and the state of the provisions now required, that this allowance should be still more reduced. We had no certainty of meeting with provisions or stores, or a hospitable reception in any port, should we arrive in the Pacific; and, should we fail in our attempts to get round, we have no port that we can go into to recruit our stock, without the certainty of blockade; we are beyond the reach of assistance from every quarter, and remain solitary and dependent on our own resources, and the precarious supplies which the enemy may afford; and should we go into port, we have not ground tackle on which we can rely. Besides, I was departing from the letter of my instructions, and in prosecution of a plan which might not prove successful, or meet the approbation of my commanding officer, or the navy department; and, however justifiable my conduct may be, the apprehensions of censure could not otherwise than produce their effect on my mind. Had my intentions been corroborated by positive orders, whatever might have been my probable fate, I should have entered into the execution of them with redoubled alacrity and ardour, and despised (what I should then have considered) the petty hardships and dangers I was threatened with; but driven, as I have been, to the absolute necessity of departing from my instructions, and having taken on myself the responsibility of proceeding into the Pacific, I have, in some measure, engaged to answer for the success of the enterprize, to which every other consideration should now be subservient; and, if we were subject to evils, that no other ship yet had to bear up against, it only required, that we should summon up the more fortitude and determine to subdue them, to trust much to fortune, and enter boldly into the attempt.

      But how different was the situation of lord Anson! After refreshing at Madeira, St. Catharines, and Port St. Julian, he sailed through the Streights of Le Maire, with a fleet of six stout ships of war, well equipped, and well manned; mounting 236 guns, and carrying 1510 men, accompanied by two victuallers; one of 400, the other of 200 tons burthen; all of which were near a year in preparing for this expedition into the Pacific. This powerful fleet, with all its advantages, and the mutual assistance they could render each other, was reduced in its passage round Cape Horn, to three miserably shattered hulks, having, altogether, only 335 men and boys alive on board; and of this number, only one ship arrived in England; and could not have been navigated by her crew, and the survivors of the fleet, were it not for the assistance of 40 men recruited at the Cape of Good Hope. Pizarro sailed in pursuit of lord Anson, with a fleet of six sail of men of war, mounting 298 guns, and carrying upwards of 3000 men; and of this powerful fleet, owing to their disasters off Cape Horn, only one returned to Spain. The examples of disasters before me were innumerable; and all, at this moment, presented themselves with redoubled force to my imagination; but instead of deterring me from the attempt, or damping my ardour, served only to rouse my ambition, and induced me to redouble my precautions and my efforts, to arrive in that sea, where lord Anson has rendered himself so justly celebrated, by his indefatigable perseverance, and ultimate success against the Spaniards. Indeed, I hoped to retort on his haughty government, some of the evils to which he had subjected the pusillanimous and unprepared Spaniards; and make the name of the Essex as well known in the Pacific ocean, as that of the Centurion.

      As I before observed, some of my guns were put below; the spars taken from the upper, and put on the gun-deck, and the weight considerably reduced aloft; added to these measures, the best sails were bent; preventer-shrouds got up, to secure the masts; and every other means adopted, that prudence could suggest, or our ingenuity invent, to render our passage as free from disaster as possible. We were entering the bourn of all our dread with a pleasant breeze from the northward, and a smooth

sea; felicitating ourselves on our fortunate and pleasant passage through the streights, and our prospects of a safe and speedy one around the cape. It was in my power to have steered a direct course for Cape Horn; but the weather continuing remarkably hazy, I thought it most prudent to keep aloof from the land, and steered more to the southward, until the morning; when there appearing a prospect of a change of weather, I changed my course for the island of Diego Ramiries, which is to the southward and westward of the Cape.

      On the meridian of the 14th, the horizon was somewhat clear; the wind moderate, from the westward; the sun shining out bright; and, with the exception of some dark and lowering clouds to the northward, we had every prospect of pleasant weather. The cape was now in sight, bearing north; and Diego Ramiries bearing north-west; and the black clouds before mentioned, served well to give additional horror to their dreary and inhospitable aspect. But so different was the temperature of the air, the appearance of the heavens, and the smoothness of the sea, to every thing we had expected, and pictured to ourselves, that we could not but smile at our own credulity and folly, in giving credit to (what we supposed) the exaggerated and miraculous accounts of former voyages; and even when we admitted, for a moment, the correctness of their statements, we could not help attributing their disasters and misfortunes chiefly to their own imprudencies and mismanagements; and as we had endeavoured to guard against every accident that we had to apprehend, we flattered ourselves with the belief, that fortune would be more favourable to our enterprize, than she had been to theirs. But, while we were indulging ourselves in these pleasing speculations, the black clouds, hanging over Cape Horn, burst upon us with a fury we little expected, and reduced us in a few minutes to a reefed fore-sail, and close-reefed main top-sail, and in a few hours afterwards to our storm stay-sails. Nor was the violence of the winds the only danger we had to encounter; for it produced an irregular and dangerous sea, that threatened to jerk away our masts, at every roll of the ship. With this wind we steered to the southward, with a view of getting an offing from the land, in

expectation of avoiding, in future, the sudden gusts, and the irregular seas, which we supposed were owing to violent currents, and confined to the neighbourhood of the coast; but in this expectation we were much disappointed; for, as we receded from the coast, the unpleasantness of the weather, and the freshness of the gale, increased; and it was in vain that we hoped for that moderate and pleasant weather, which former navigators have generally experienced, in the latitude of 60° south, which we reached on the 18th. From the time we lost sight of the land, until this period, the gales blew hard from the north-west, accompanied with heavy rains, cold disagreeable weather, and a dangerous sea. We were never enabled to carry more sail than a close-reefed main top-sail and reefed fore-sail, and were frequently under our storm stay-sails; but by keeping the ship a point free, she made but little lee-way, went fast through the water, and gave us considerable westing; but we were carrying a heavy press of sail, and were frequently deluged with the sea that broke into us. We, however, escaped every injury of importance, except the loss of our sprit-sail yard, which was carried away by a heavy sea, that filled the fore top-mast stay-sail, and carried away the bees of the bowsprit. On the 18th, as I before observed, we were in the latitude of 60° 7' south, and longitude of 76° 20' west; and this I considered sufficiently to the westward, to enable us, on a change of wind, which we anxiously looked for, to weather the coast of Terra del Fuego. The movement of every passing cloud was anxiously watched, every appearance of the heavens carefully noted, and our chief employment was comparing the weather we had experienced, and present appearances, with the accounts of those who had preceded us.

      The eclipse of the moon, on the 14th, had prepared us to meet with bad weather; and we felt much gratified, to believe it all over (as the weather had now become somewhat moderate); and as we were as far to the west as Cook on his first voyage, and nearly as far as La Perouse, when they stood to the northward; and as we had run this distance, from the streights of Le Maire, in as short a time as it had ever been done by any ship, we were willing to believe ourselves the favourite children of fortune; for

the weather we had yet met, had not been so severe as some we had encountered on the coast of North America, during our last cruize, and fell far short of the descriptions given by the author of lord Anson's voyage. But on the afternoon of the 18th, a gale came on, from the westward, which, for its violence, equalled any described by that historian. But, as my experience had already taught me, that moderate weather was not to be expected in this part of the world, at this season of the year, I determined to carry all the sail in my power, to endeavour to get to the northward as fast as possible; and with much difficulty, and great risque of splitting the sail, succeeded in getting the close-reefed main topsail set. With this, and the fore, main, and mizen storm-stay-sails, we were enabled to force the ship about two knots, through a tremendous head sea, which threatened every moment destruction to our bowsprit and masts. The gale, however, increasing, we were soon reduced to the main storm-stay-sail, and from that to bare poles. About 12 o'clock, the wind hauled around to the south-west, and blew in dreadful squalls, accompanied with hail; and as this enabled us to steer north-west, and (allowing for the drift and variation) make a north course good, which I believed would take us clear of the west point of Terra del Fuego, I got all the yards well secured, by preventer-braces; and, by watching a favourable opportunity, set the close-reefed fore and main top-sails, and reefed fore-sail. The squalls came at intervals of from 15 to 20 minutes, with so little warning, and with such tremendous blasts, that it was impossible to shorten sail; for to have started the sheets, after they had struck the ship, would have been attended with the certain loss of the sail. I, therefore, saw no alternative, but running before the wind, while they lasted, and as soon as they were over, which was generally in two or three minutes, hauled again by the wind. Thus, by the utmost attention and care, we were enabled to get along, at the rate of between 5 and 6 miles per hour; and on the 21st, found ourselves. by estimation, in the latitude of 57° 30' south; and the longitude of 77° west. We had now fair prospects of soon getting around. I had made large allowances for drift and lee way; and believed ourselves as far to the west as our reckoning gave us, which

I considered fully sufficient to take us clear of all land, if the westerly winds should prevail. And having, now, no doubt of succeeding speedily in my passage to a friendly port, where we could get supplies, I, to the great joy of all on board, ordered the allowance of bread to be increased to two thirds.

      Although we deemed ourselves more fortunate than other navigators had been, in getting around Cape Horn (for we considered our passage now as certain,with a tolerable slant of wind), yet we had not been without our share of hardships. The weather had, for some days, been piercing cold; this, with the almost constant rains and hails, and the water shipped from the heavy seas, and from leaks, kept the vessel very uncomfortable, and the clothes of the officers and crew very, uncomfortably wet. The extremities of those who had formerly been affected by the frost, became excessively troublesome to them, so much so, as to prevent some from doing their duty; from this cause, I myself was a considerable sufferer. Many, also, felt severely the great want of shoes, and the necessary quantity of woollen clothing. Their allowance of provisions was barely sufficient to satisfy the cravings of nature; and as to refreshments of any kind, they were entirely out of the question, our scanty supply, obtained at St. Catharines, having long been consumed. The fatigues of the officers and crew (although I endeavoured to alleviate them as much as possible, by only keeping the watch on deck) were very considerable; for deceitful intervals of moderate weather would, for a moment, encourage us to make sail; when, in a few minutes afterwards, blasts, accompanied with rain and hail, would threaten destruction to our sails and spars; and as our necessities, and the state of the ship, made it requisite, that we should endeavour to make our passage as short as possible, by taking advantage of every favourable opportunity of getting along, we were constantly harassed by making and taking in sail. To be sure, we had not much to take in, but what we had were heavy, and required all hands to manage them. It had been some time since we had laid aside all our small sails; such as top-gallant-sails, studding-sails, stay-sails, &c.: the constant gales we had experienced, and having no expectation of better weather, had induced me to have them all un-

bent, and stowed away below; as also to get from aloft all the booms and rigging. Indeed our top-sails, courses, and storm-staysails were the only sails that we were, at any time, enabled to use: and it was rarely that they could be set, without being reefed. After this reduction of weight from aloft, we found the ship to strain less; for, although in her form was combined all the qualities necessary to constitute, what seamen call, a good sea-boat; yet, we found she was not proof against the effect of the violent and dangerous seas, for which this sea is so justly noted. Her water-ways began to grow more open, and her upper works to work considerably; and had she not those qualities above mentioned, in a remarkable degree, it is likely we should not have escaped some serious disaster, or at least without the loss of some of our masts or bowsprit, which, from violent rolling and pitching, were frequently endangered.

      However, with great industry, much care, and extraordinary good fortune, we had succeeded in getting, as I before observed, (by our reckoning,). as far to the westward as 77° west longitude; and this,too, we had effected by constant struggles against strong westerly gales, in a shorter time, perhaps, than it ever before was accomplished in; and we now saw a speedy end to all our sufferings and anxieties, and tasted, in pleasing anticipation, our delightful cruize in the Pacific. It is true, we had had no opportunity of verifying our dead reckoning by lunar observations; nor could we place any reliance on the chronometer, as the cold had greatly changed her rate of going, which was first made evident to us on making Staten Land; yet we felt great confidence, notwithstanding, that our dead reckoning was not so far wrong, as to make it at all probable, that we were not sufficiently to the west of Terra del Fuego, for a north course to take us clear of it. On the 21st, the wind shifted to the north-west, with which we stood to the southward and westward, and made, during the twenty-four hours, upwards of two degrees of longitude; and, on the meridian of the 22d, we were in latitude 57° 54' south, and longitude, by account, 79° 28' west; which is upwards of four degrees to the west of the westernmost part of Terra del Fuego. Now, no doubt remained of our having made sufficient westing; and as the

wind hauled to west-north-west, I stood to the northward: but an opportunity presenting itself for taking a lunar observation, we, to our great disappointment and regret, discovered, that we were only in the longitude of 75° 20' west, which is about the longitude of cape Pilor, the westernmost part of Terra del Fuego. It, therefore, became necessary to stand again to the south-west, and endeavour to make sufficient westing, to guard against a future disappointment of this nature. We had felt apprehensive of a current setting constantly to the eastward, but did not believe that it could, in two days, have taken us four degrees to the eastward of our reckoning. But great and mortifying as this discovery was to us, it was not to be overcome but by renewed efforts and fortitude and as the wind hauled round to the northward, it gave us a prospect of soon recovering our lost ground. I, therefore, permitted the crew to continue to draw their increased allowance of bread, as I did not wish them to feel the extent of my disappointment; which, perhaps, would have been attended with a depression of their spirits; and might have produced that dreadful disease, the scurvy, from which we have been hitherto exempt in a most extraordinary degree, not the least symptom yet appearing on board. The crew, notwithstanding their constant labour, fatigue, and privations, have enjoyed most extraordinary spirits. They continued their usual diversions during the gales; laboured with cheerfulness, when labour was requisite; not a murmur or complaint was heard; but all seemed determined to share with their officers every fatigue, and to exert themselves to the utmost, to conquer every difficulty. To be sure, we had not been long in those seas; but since we had left America, they have been deprived of almost every comfort of life; and so great was their desire now for fresh provisions, that a rat was esteemed a dainty, and pet monkeys were sacrificed to appease their longings. Our provisions and our water still continued good; the bread, to be sure, had been attacked by worms and weavils, but they had only in a slight degree altered its qualities; our peas and beans, however, had not escaped so well, for, as in this cold climate the allowance of water enabled us to spare enough, to permit the boiling and use of them, I directed them to be served; but on open-

ing the barrels that contained them, we found only a mass of chaff and worms. The rats, also, had found the way into our bread-rooms, and had occasioned a great consumption of that precious article. As to our water, none could be sweeter or purer; it had not undergone the slightest change since it had been on board; and the only fact I think it necessary to state, in support of this assertion, is, that a live mullet, nearly of an inch in length, was this day pumped from a cask, filled with the water in the river Delaware: had this water undergone any corruption, the fish could not certainly have existed in it. This little fish, I have put in a bottle of its native water, with a view of preserving it alive; from its size, I should suppose it to have been produced from the spawn while in the cask. The water taken in at St. Catharines, was found to be equally good; and my own experience now enables me to assure all navigators, that the only precautions necessary, to have good water at sea, are to provide casks made of well seasoned staves, have them cleansed, and filled with pure water. Should it be necessary at any time (for the trim or safety of the ship, which is sometimes the case) to fill them with salt water, particular care must be taken, that they be filled, and well soaked and cleansed with fresh water, before they are filled with the water intended for use. These particulars, as I have before observed, have never been neglected by me, since I have had the command of a vessel; and consequently no one on board has ever suffered from the use of bad water; and, certainly, this is an object that well merits the attention of every commander, when the chief comfort and the health of his crew are so much dependent thereon. For who has experienced, at sea, a greater enjoyment than a draught of pure water? Or who can say, that the ship-fever and scurvy do not originate frequently in the stinking and disgusting water, which seamen are too often driven to the necessity of drinking at sea, even when their stomachs revolt at it?

      On the 24th, after experiencing a heavy gale from the N.W., I had the extreme satisfaction to find ourselves as far to the westward as 80°; and as the wind shifted and blew from the S.W., I had no doubt of being able to effect our passage into the Pacific

ocean; and consequently thought it advisable to increase the allowance of water, in order that the crew might be enabled to spare enough to afford them tea, morning and evening, as I was convinced it would conduce as much to their health as their comfort; and when I communicated to them this arrangement, I took an opportunity of thanking them for their good conduct, during our boisterous and unpleasant passage around the cape; encouraged them to a continuance of it, by holding out prospects of indulgence to those, who should so distinguish themselves; and, as some thefts had been committed, for which the perpetrators were then under the punishment of wearing a yoke, I gave a general pardon, on condition that the first offender brought to the gang-way should receive three dozen lashes.

      It was with no little joy, we now saw ourselves fairly in the Pacific ocean, and calculating on a speedy end to all our sufferings; we began also to form our projects for annoying the enemy, and had already equipped, in imagination, one of their vessels of 14 or 16 guns, and manned from the Essex, to cruize against their commerce; indeed, various were the schemes we formed at this time for injuring them, and had, in fancy, immense wealth to return with to our country: and, as the gale continued to blow from the S.W., every hour seemed to brighten our prospects and give us fresh spirits; and on the last of February, being-in the latitude of 50° S., the wind became moderate and shifted to the northward, the sea smooth, and every prospect of mild and pleasant weather. I consequently determined to replace the guns, and get the spars on the spar-deck; but before we had effected this, the wind had freshened up to a gale, and by noon had reduced us to our storm stay-sail and close-reefed main-top-sail; it, in the afternoon, hauled around to the westward, and blew with a fury far exceeding any thing we had yet experienced, bringing with it such a tremendous sea, as to threaten us every moment with destruction, and appalled the stoutest heart on board. To attempt to convey an idea of the fury of this gale by description, would be fruitless; let it suffice to say, that it was rarely equalled, and I am sure never was exceeded. Our sails, our standing and running rigging, from the succession of bad weather, had become so damaged, as

to be no longer trust-worthy; we took, however, the best means in our power to render every thing secure, and carried as heavy a press of sail as the ship would bear, to keep her from drifting on the coast of Patagonia, which we had reason to believe was not far distant, from the appearance of birds, kelp, and whales, which I have heretofore found to be a tolerable sure indication of a near approach to land, and from the clouds to leeward, which appeared as if arrested by the high mountains of the Andes. From the excessive violence with which the wind blew, we had strong hopes that it would be of short continuance; until, worn out with fatigue and anxiety, greatly alarmed with the terror of a lee-shore, and in momentary expectation of the loss of our masts and bowsprit, we almost considered our situation hopeless; and to add to our distress, our pumps had become choaked by the shingle ballast, which, from the violent rolling of the ship, had got into them; the ship made a great deal of water, and the sea had increased to such a height, as to threaten to swallow us at every instant; the whole ocean was one continued foam of breakers, and the heaviest squall that I ever before experienced, had not equalled in violence the most moderate intervals of this tremendous hurricane. We had, however, done all that lay in our power to preserve the ship from the violence of the elements, which seemed united to effect our destruction, and turned our attention to our pumps, (which we were enabled to clear,) and to keep the ship from drifting on shore, by getting on the most advantageous tack; we, however, were not enabled to wear but once, for the violence of the wind and sea was such, as afterward to render it impossible to attempt it, without hazarding the destruction of the ship, and the loss of every life on board. The whole of the 1st and 2d of March, we anxiously hoped for a change, but in vain; our fatigues had been constant and excessive; many had been severely bruised, by being thrown, by the violent jerks of the ship, down the hatchways, and I was particularly unfortunate, in receiving three severe falls, which at length disabled me from going on deck; the oldest seaman in the ship had never experienced any thing to equal the gale. We had done all in our power to save the ship (except throwing her guns overboard, which I re-

served for the last extremity), and now patiently waited for the tempest to lull. It had already blown three days without abating; the ship had resisted its violence to the astonishment of all, without having received any considerable injury; and we began to hope, from her buoyancy, and other good qualities, we should be enabled to weather the gale. We had shipped several heavy seas, that would have preyed destructive to almost any other ship; but, to us, they were attended with no other inconveniences, than the momentary alarm they excited, and that arising from the immense quantity of water, which forced its way into every part of the ship, and kept every thing afloat between decks. However, about 3 o'clock of the morning of the 3d, the watch only being on deck, an enormous sea broke over the ship, and for an instant destroyed every hope. Our gun-deck ports were burst in; both boats on the quarters stove; our spare spars washed from the chains; our head-rails washed away, and hammock stanchions burst in; and the ship perfectly deluged and water logged, immediately after this tremendous shock, which threw the crew into consternation. The gale began to abate, and in the morning we were enabled to set our reefed fore-sail. In the height of the gale, Lewis Price, a marine, who had long been confined with a pulmonary complaint, departed this life and was this morning committed to the deep; but the violence of the sea was such, that the crew could not be permitted to come on deck, to attend the ceremony of his burial, as their weight would have strained and endangered the safety of the ship.

      When this last sea broke on board us, one of the prisoners, the boatswain of the Nocton, through excess of alarm, exclaimed, that the ship's broadside was stove in, and that she was sinking; this alarm was greatly calculated to increase the fears of those below, who, from the immense torrent of water that was rushing down the hatchways, had reason to believe the truth of his assertion; many who were washed from the spar to the gun-deck, and from their hammocks, and did not know the extent of the injury, were also greatly alarmed; but the men at the wheel, and some others, who were enabled by a good grasp to keep their stations, distinguished themselves by their coolness and activity after the

shock; and I took this opportunity of advancing them one grade, by filling up the vacancies occasioned by those sent in prizes, and those who were left at St. Catharines; rebuking, at the same time, the others for their timidity.

      And now we began to believe, that the elements had exhausted all their rage on us, for the sky became serene, and we were enabled to make sail; the wind shifted to the S.W., and brought with it the only pleasant weather we had experienced since we had passed the Falkland Islands: but here again we were deceived, for, before night, it began to blow in heavy squalls, with cold rain, and reduced us to close-reefed fore and main top-sails, and reefed fore-sail; but, as the wind was fair, we consoled ourselves with the pleasing reflection, that we were every moment receding farther from the influence of the dreary and inhospitable climate of Cape Horn; and, on the 5th of the month, having passed the parallel of Chili, our sufferings appeared at an end, for we enjoyed pleasant and temperate weather, with fine breezes from the southward; and, for the first time during our passage, were enabled to knock out our dead-lights, and open our gun-deck ports. The repairs of our damages went on rapidly, and by night the ship was, in every respect, excepting wear and tear, as well prepared for active service, as the day we left St. Catharines. Our latitude, at meridian, was 39° 20' S.; and we had a distant view of part of the Andes, which appeared covered with snow. Albatrosses were as usual about the ship; several fish, by sailors denominated sun-fish, were seen; and we frequently passed a white and apparently gelatinous substance, which we had not an opportunity of examining. There was every prospect of a speedy arrival in some port on the coast of Chili, and I directed the cables to be bent, using every means in our power to guard them from the effects of rocky bottom.

      The health of the crew was better than when I left the United States, and not the slightest appearance of scurvy in the ship. The surgeon's report of this day, was as follows;

      We were all in high spirits, and in momentary expectation of falling in with some of the enemy's ships. It was my intention now to look into Mocha, a small uninhabited island on the coast of Chili, in the latitude of about 38° 15', and about 8 leagues distant from the coast. This place, I had understood, was a resort for the British vessels employed in smuggling, and in the whale fishery on the coast; and from thence I intended to proceed to St. Maria, another uninhabited island, about   [sic] leagues farther north, also frequented by them; from those vessels, I hoped to be enabled to procure such provisions, and other supplies, as we were in want of, and thereby render our going into Conception unnecessary, as I was desirous of doing the enemy as much injury as possible, without giving any alarm on the coast.

      But, before I proceed farther, as this journal may accidentally fall into other hands, I shall take this opportunity of offering some hints to those, who may succeed me in attempting the passage around Cape Horn; and this I feel myself the more authorised to do, as we have effected it in, perhaps, a shorter time, with less damage, and labouring under more disadvantages, than any others who ever attempted it; and that too by struggling, at an unfavourable season of the year, against a constant succession of obstinate and violent gales of wind. And I am the more strongly induced to offer these hints, conceiving it to be of the utmost importance to navigation, to give any information, derived from experience, which may tend to enable navigators to overcome the obstacles v

which nature seems designedly to have placed, to deter mankind from all attempts to penetrate from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean; and, as various opinions have been given on the subject, my advice may differ from that of others in several points: but as my measures have proved successful in the end, and as it is not founded on mere conjectures and hypothesis, it is to be presumed, that it may deserve the attention of seamen, for whom alone it is intended.

      In the first place, I must caution them against those erroneous expectations, which the opinion of La Perouse is unhappily calculated to lead them into, and, perhaps, has proved fatal to many ships, by inducing their commanders to believe, that the passage around Cape Horn is attended with no other difficulties than those to be met with in any other high latitude; and thereby causing them to neglect taking those necessary precautions, which the safety of their ships, and the lives of those on board, require. He says, to use his own words, "I doubled Cape Horn with much more ease, than I had dared to imagine; I am now convinced, that this navigation is like that of all high latitudes; the difficulties which are expected to be met with, are the effects of an old prejudice which should no longer exist, and which the reading of Anson's voyage has not a little contributed to preserve among seamen." On the 25th of January, La Perouse entered the Streights of Le Maire, and on the 9th of February, he was in the Pacific, in the parallel of the Streights of Magellan, making his passage in 14 days. On the 13th of February. I passed the Streights of La Maire, and was in the latitude of those of Magellan on the 26th, making a passage of 13 days, a little more than a month later in the season than he passed the cape; and as my passage, against such violent gales, was made in one day less than his, I am at a loss to conceive what should have occasioned his delay. I have the utmost respect for the memory of that celebrated navigator, and regret that I should have cause to differ with him in opinion in any point, and particularly on one of so much importance, as the doubling of Cape Horn from the east. Indeed, ample as has been the information he has given on every other subject that has come under his notice, I am almost indu-

ced to believe, that many of his observations on this matter have been suppressed by his editor; and that the remark is the effect of national prejudice, which ever has, and ever will exist. The passage round Cape Horn, from the eastward, I positively assert, is the most dangerous, most difficult, and attended with more hardships, than that of the same distance, in any other part of the world; and none should attempt it, without using every precaution to guard against accident, that prudence or foresight can suggest. And to this end, I would advise them, when they arrive in the latitude of 40° south, to prepare their ships for the tempestuous weather of Cape Horn; by securing their masts by preventer-shrouds; sending down all their light spars, studding-sail booms, &c.; unreaving their small rigging; unbending their light sails; and reducing, as much as possible, the weight, in order that they may be enabled to carry a heavy press of canvas. They should abandon all thoughts of using their light sails, until they should arrive in the same latitude in the Pacific. Indeed, it would be advisable to provide themselves with a small set of top-sails and yards to suit them, as it will be rarely (if ever) they will be enabled to carry whole top-sails, and seldom their courses. Their storm stay-sails should be constantly bent; and if they have guns, no more of them should be kept on deck, than what would be necessary to keep the ship easy. From the latitude 40° south, in the Atlantic, to the Streights of Le Maire, the winds vary from north-west to south-east, by the west; in order therefore to take advantage of the slants which they offer, it is adviseable to keep about the edge of soundings, and run with the wind free on that tack which most favours the course; this will prevent the ship from making lee-way, and the certainty of a change will soon enable you to recover the direct track. By pursuing this plan, you will be enabled by the soundings to correct your reckoning, as they are marked on the charts with sufficient accuracy. Pass the Falkland Islands in about the longitude of 65° west; and, if the wind should enable you, by all means go through the Streights of Le Maire, which is a passage perfectly free from all danger. Should the winds be a-head, however, it might then be advisable to go to the east of Staten Land,

in preference to attempting the straights, as the rapidity of the current might offer some embarrassments. On getting clear of the land, the prevalent winds are from the southwest and northwest by the west, and generally in violent blasts. Steer to the southward, with a flowing sail, and carry as much canvas as the ship will bear, until you get into the latitude of upwards of 60° south, when you will escape, in a great measure, the violence of the current that is forced by the prevailing winds along the coast of Terra del Fuego. On reaching the latitude of 60°, keep on that tack which most favours your course to the west, but always under a heavy press of canvas, and about one point free; and never heave to, so long as you can carry sail, and keep head-way on the ship. Make an allowance for the current setting to the eastward, 18 miles in every 24 hours; and don't attempt to weather Terra del Fuego, until you are sure you have reached the longitude of 81° west from London; as strong westerly gales constantly prevail on the coast of Patagonia, which render it necessary to keep well to the westward, to avoid the difficulties and dangers of a lee-shore. These gales extend as far as the parallel of Baldivia, and render the dangers on that coast greater than those of Cape Horn, as they blow with equal violence, and are attended with a sea equally, if not more terrible; and in addition to which you have, under the lee, an inhospitable ironbound coast. When you have passed the latitude of 40° south, you may then venture (but cautiously) to use some cf your light sails. I think, however, it would be a good rule not to use them until you arrive at Mocha, or St. Maria, where you may touch to refresh, after the fatigues of the passage, and rig and repair your ship; and that she will require repairs, is certain.

      During your passage around the cape, avoid harassing your crew unnecessarily; keep only the watch on deck, except when there is the most absolute necessity for all hands; and use every means in your power, that will contribute to their comfort; by this you will have fresh and healthy men, and in good spirits, to exert themselves in time of need; a circumstance greatly to be desired, where health and strength are at all times so necessary for the preservation of the ship, and for those exertions in making

sail, that are at all times requisite to shorten the passage. It has been advised by some, to double the cape in the dead of winter; others have recommended the months of December and January, as the most favourable. I can only speak of the month of February, and would advise them never to attempt it then. Indeed our sufferings (short as has been our passage) have been so great, that I would advise those bound into the Pacific, never to attempt the passage of Cape Horn, if they can get there by any other route; and, this being the last piece of advice I have to give them on that subject, I shall resume my narrative.

      On the morning of the 6th, the Island of Mocha bore northwest, by compass, about 20 miles distant, and we appeared about as far from the coast of Chili. Our soundings were then 60° [sic] fathoms, fine black and gray sand; the winds light, inclining to calms; and a small current setting to the north. I stood for the island, keeping the lead going; and found the depth to decrease regularly, to within 21 miles of the south-east part, where we had 10 fathoms water, fine bluish sand. A sandy point makes out from this part of the island, on which stands an old tree, and off which are some breakers, which extend a quarter of a mile. This point I rounded, at the distance of one league, and had 10 fathoms; the depth then soon increased to 15, when I hauled in for a remarkable gap, about the middle of the island, and anchored in 12 fathoms water, with black sandy bottom; the south-east point bearing east-south-east, and the north point, north-northeast. We were then about two miles from the shore

      The island of Mocha is high, and may be seen at a great distance. On the north part, the land gradually tapers off to a long low point, off which lie some rocks, at the distance of a quarter of a mile. On the west side is a long, narrow, and, were it not for the height of the island, a dangerous reef, extending three leagues, on which, during a heavy swell, the water breaks with great violence. At the anchorage, a ship is sheltered from the westerly and southerly winds, but is exposed to these from the north and east; the latter, however, seldom blows with violence on the coast.

      As soon as the ship was anchored, the boats were got out, and myself and several of the officers went on shore. The sea was beating furiously against the beach and rocks that skirt the shore, and it was some time before we could find a landing place; at length, however, we found one a short distance to the north of an extensive sandy beach, in a small cove formed by the rocks, and protected from the sea by a small reef: here we found the water perfectly smooth. As we had been surrounded with seals and birds of different kinds as we ran in; and had seen, with our spy-glasses, several hogs and horses on shore, I permitted the officers, and the most careful of the men, to take muskets with them, and in the course of the few hours we were on shore, we had killed and got down to the boats, 10 hogs, with some young pigs, which the seamen had run down, and were about embarking with them at dusk of the evening; but seeing a drove of horses coming along, and every one being anxious to fire, and feeling apprehensive of some accident, I directed them to conceal themselves behind the boat that were hauled on the beach, and not to fire until I had fired; intending to reserve my shot until they had got to that position, that all could fire without the least danger of

accident. I accordingly fired, and was succeeded by a volley; one horse was crippled, and the seamen ran forward with clubs to knock him down, and already had hold of him, when a young officer, who had the misfortune of being very near-sighted, (and who had reserved his fire, not having seen the drove,) ran forward, and seeing in the dark the groupe of sailors about the animal, supposed it to be the horse, and fired; unhappily, the ball passed through the breast of James Spafford, the gunner's mate, one of the best and most trusty men in my ship. It is impossible for me to express what were my feelings, when, with the utmost composure, the poor fellow, with a firm voice, said, "Sir, you have shot me! I am a dying man; take me to the boat." The distress of the officer on the occasion, was beyond description. Doctor Hoffman was on shore, and gave us but little hopes of his life, as the ball had entered his right breast, and came out below his right shoulder, near the backbone. A boat was immediately sent off to the ship with him, accompanied by doctor Hoffman and the officer, who had so unfortunately been the cause of the disaster; and on my arrival, which was speedily after him, I found him still alive; but the chief surgeon, doctor Miller, could give me no reason to believe that he would recover. Had it not been for this dreadful accident, we should have been much delighted with out excursion on shore, as it had not only afforded us a pleasant recreation after our excessive fatigues at sea, but had enabled us to extend the benefits of it to the whole ship's company, as we had been so successful as to procure a fresh mess for all hands. The horse-meat, however, was generally preferred to the hogs, it being much fatter, and more tender; the hogs proved tough, and had, besides (to me), an unpleasant flavour, though I heard no complaints among the sailors on that subject, as their stomachs were perhaps less delicate.

      It was much to be regretted, that I had been so imprudently indulgent, as to permit so many to take muskets on shore, on many accounts; but more particularly on account of the accident which happened to poor Spafford. The constant firing, by bad marksmen, in every direction, not only greatly alarmed the horses and hogs, and made them very shy, and thereby prevented the more

skilful from having an opportunity of killing them; but many of the poor animals were wounded in different parts of the body, and made their escape with the blood streaming from their wounds; whereas, expert marksmen would not have fired, until they were sure of shooting them through some vital part. I have no doubt, that in the few hours we were on shore, we were the cause of the death of at least a dozen horses, and double the number of hogs, that made their escape after being wounded; and from the great number of bones that are scattered in every direction on the island, I have reason to believe, that the same cruel warfare has been pursued by other navigators, who have touched there. The animals are so numerous, that one good marksman could more than supply a ship's company of 300 men with fresh provisions, without making such cruel and unnecessary destruction among them, as I have too much reason to believe we caused; and it is greatly to be lamented, that visitors to this island should indulge themselves in such wanton cruelty, as must, in time, deprive navigators of those refreshments, they may be otherwise certain of meeting with; and, as they enjoy in common these advantages, it is a duty they owe to each other, to endeavour as much as possible to preserve them.

      This island, which is situated in lat. 38° 21' 37" S., long. 74° 38' 26" W., is about 20 miles in circumference, has a verdant and beautiful appearance, its hills being covered to their summits with trees of a large size, and clumps of them are near the water's edge, which renders wooding very easy. Ships may also supply themselves with excellent water, from several beautiful streams, which discharge themselves on the west side; it would, however, be necessary to wait for a favourable time to take the casks off, as, when the sea is high, the surf beats with great violence.

      It was settled in the early part of the last century by the Spaniards, and was deserted by them, perhaps in consequence of the terrors excited by the buccaniers. It is now frequented by vessels engaged in smuggling, and in the whale fishery, as well as those employed in catching seals; great numbers of which are always to he found on the rocks and small keys. Shags, penguins,

and other aquatic birds are to be found in great numbers; the woods are filled with birds of various descriptions; and apples and purslain grow on different parts of the island. Our short stay here did not enable me to give this interesting spot so thorough an examination as I could have wished; but I saw enough to convince me, that it is a most desirable place for vessels to touch at after doubling Cape Horn.

      At day-light, on the morning of the 7th, lieut. Downes went on shore to endeavour to get some more fresh meat; I directed him to be on board by 8 o'clock, as the appearance of the weather indicated fresh gales, and I intended, at that time, to leave the island; the wind, however, freshened up, and at half past 7, the ship, lying at a short scope of cable, started her anchor; I consequently hove it up, and fired a gun as a signal for the boat to come off, and on her return made sail to the northward, along the coast.

      Lieutenant Downes had not been successful, as he had only killed one horse, and, from the great hurry he was in to get on board, seeing the ship under way, could only bring with him one quarter of it.

      I now proceeded with an intention of touching at St. Maria's; where, from the freshness of the gale, I expected to arrive before night. I ranged the coast within 5 or 6 miles, and kept a sharp look-out, with the hope of speaking some vessel, whereby we might be enabled to obtain some information of the enemy; but were disappointed. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we were but three leagues distant from the S.W. part of St. Maria's; but the gale had increased so much, and the weather had become so hazy, that it would have been very unsafe to have attempted to run in for the anchorage, particularly as I was perfectly ignorant of the passage between it and the main, and had no person on board who could give me any information respecting it, that could be relied on; for, although several of my seamen had frequently anchored there, they differed so widely in their accounts of the place, and were altogether so ignorant of the depth of water inside the island, that I found it would be absolutely necessary to send in a boat to sound before I ventured in with the ship; for I laboured under the great inconvenience of having only one chart of the whole

of the coast of America, and that on so small a scale, as not to be relied on but for the direction of the coast, projection of headlands, &c.; and on that the island of St. Maria's was merely marked as a point. I had no views of land, no descriptions or draughts of harbours on this coast, and felt myself greatly embarrassed, from the extreme caution with which I was compelled to navigate. I however hoped to remove this difficulty the first prize I should be so fortunate as to make, and felt more desire to get possession of the charts than can well be conceived, for at this time good charts of the coast would be the greatest treasure we could meet with.

      Finding that I could not run in for the anchorage, or send in a boat, on account of the violence of the wind, which had now increased to a gale, I hauled off under three double-reefed topsails; but we were soon compelled to bring to under close-reefed fore and main top-sails, and send down our top-gallant yards: but the ship pitching very deep, and straining considerably, I determined to run to the northward as far as Conception, and directed the helm to be put aweather; but the gale increasing through the night, I found it would not be safe to bring her to, and in the morning we found ourselves considerably to the northward of that port. About 8 o'clock, the wind became very light, and shifted to the northward, bringing with it a very thick fog. I, however, stood to the eastward, with all expectation of seeing the land; and at meridian, the fog having cleared off for a few minutes, we discovered it, at the distance of about 8 miles, our latitude being 35° 40' south, and our soundings 105 fathoms, green oozy bottom: the water at this time was much discoloured.

      I now considered myself in a good position to meet vessels plying between Conception and Valparaiso; and as the health of the crew, and state of my provisions, or the distresses of the ship, did not yet render my going into port absolutely necessary, I determined to keep the sea a while longer, in hopes of meeting some of the enemy's ships, and thereby obtain such supplies as would render it entirely unnecessary to make ourselves known on the coast, until we were about quitting it. Unfortunately, the fog continued to envelope us, and prevented our extending our

view a mile beyond the ship, and rendered it unsafe to keep so close in shore as I wished; for although the land is very high all along this coast, and in clear weather may be seen front a great distance, yet the state of the atmosphere was such, that before we could see it distinctly, the white foam of breakers among the rocks which skirt it, was evident to us. We were here surrounded by whales in great numbers, which gave us strong hopes of soon meeting some of the vessels engaged in catching them, as the whales generally go in schools along the coast, and the whalers keep in pursuit of them, following their track north and south. We also saw many seals, and birds in greater numbers than at any time during our passage, except while in the neighbourhood of Mocha.

      From the 8th until the 11th, the weather continued foggy, and the winds light and baffling from the northward, which prevented us from making any head-way, and during their continuation deprived us of all hope of discovering vessels. Nothing could now exceed our impatience. We had come thus far without having seen a vessel of any description; but as we had not expected to meet any, we had not been disappointed; but new we had arrived at the theatre of our intended operations, and impatiently waited for the curtain to rise, for we calculated on seeing a vessel of some kind, so soon as the fog should clear off; and even a Spaniard would have been a most welcome sight to us, as, by speaking him, we hoped that we should be enabled to get some information of the enemy that would be of service to us; for we were now groping in the dark, and entirely ignorant of what British ships were on the coast and until we could obtain some intelligence, no plan could be adopted that would afford us hopes of success.

      On the latter part of the 12th, light airs sprang up from the S.W., and the weather began to clear off slowly, and every eye was engaged in searching for a sail, as the fog moved to leeward. Nothing, however, was to be seen but a wide expanse of ocean, bounded on the east by the dreary, barren, and ironbound coast of Chili, at the back of which the eternally snow-capt mountains of the Andes reared their lofty heads, and altogether presented

to us a scene of gloomy solitude, far exceeding any thing I ever before experienced. The winds now freshening up, enabled us to make sail to the northward; and as the weather was clear, I determined to keep close in with the coast, that no vessel might be enabled to pass between us and the shore unobserved; but in the course of our run this and the next day we could discover no vessels of any description, or the least trace of the existence of a human being on the coast, except in one instance, when a fire was lighted in the evening in a small cove, probably by some Indians, or persons engaged in smuggling, and intended, no doubt, as an invitation for us to land.

      On the morning of the 13th, we discovered that our main topsail-yard was badly sprung, and were compelled to get it down and replace it with another, which we were so fortunate as to have on board; and on the afternoon of that day, we made the point three or four leagues to the south-west of the bay of Valparaiso, and called by the Spaniards Quaranmilla. This point, as you come from the southward, may be known by its sloping off gently towards the sea; and close to the end of it is a small rugged island, or rather large rock, about the height of a ship's masts. At 8 P.M., I brought the point to bear N.N.E., distant about four leagues, and then hove to, with the hope of intercepting some vessel in the morning, bound to Valparaiso, as all vessels bound there endeavour to make this point; but at sunrise, not discovering a sail, I determined to look into the harbour, and see at once what hopes we had in this quarter, and accordingly steered away for point Quaranmilla under all sail, doubling it at the distance of half a league. After passing this point, we perceived some scattering rocks lying some distance from shore, and shortly afterwards opened a handsome bay, with a fine sandy beach, and perceived a few fishing boats engaged there in fishing; and wishing to have some communication with them, I hoisted the English ensign and pendant, and a jack for a pilot, but none of them appeared disposed to come along side. In the bottom of the bay was a small enclosure with a hut, and on the top of the next projecting point was another small building, apparently covered with tiles; and on the sides of the neighbouring

hills were several cattle grazing. These were the only marks of civilization we had yet met on the coast, and nothing whatever appeared to indicate our approach to the most important city of Chili. With the exception of the few cattle that grazed on the arid rocks, the two huts before mentioned, and the miserable-looking fishermen, the coast here had the same desolate appearance as the rest we had seen, and since we had left Mocha but little of it had escaped our observation. It was in vain that we sought for those handsome villages, well-cultivated hills, and fertile valleys, which we had been prepared to meet in this part of the world.

      The whole coast is skirted by a black and gloomy rock, against the perpendicular sides of which the sea beats with fury. At the back of this rock, the country appears dreary beyond description: yellow and barren hills, cut by torrents into deep ravines, and sprinkled sparingly here and there with shrubs; but not a tree of any size was to be seen on this whole extent of coast. When the weather was clear, we always saw the Andes; and as they were never clear of snow, they were not tabulated to give us a more favourable impression of the interior.

      The next point which presented itself, on the top of which the afore-mentioned tile-covered house was situated, was the point of Angels, which I had learned formed the western point of the Bay of Valparaiso; and as I perceived some rocks lying off it, I doubled it with a stiff breeze from the southward, at the distance of nearly half a mile, keeping the lead going, but got no bottom at the depth of sixty fathoms. As we rounded this point, I sought with my glass the city of Valparaiso, or some proofs of our approach to it: first a long sandy beach, on the opposite side, offered itself to view; next a large drove of loaded mules, coming down the side of the mountain by a zigzag pathway; and, in an instant afterwards, the whole town, shipping with their colours flying, and the forts, burst out as it were from behind the rocks, and we found ourselves becalmed under the guns of a battery prepared to fire into us. The scene presented to us was as animated and cheerful as it was sudden and unexpected; and had I not hoisted English colours, I should have been tempted to run in and anchor. A moment's reflection induced me to believe, that, under existing

circumstances, it would not be advisable to do so, as several large Spanish ships, with their sails bent, and in readiness for sea, were lying in the port; and as those vessels were, beyond doubt, bound to the northward, and in all probability to Lima, I concluded on keeping the sea a few days longer, to, give them time to get out, in order that intelligence might not be given by them of an American frigate being in this part of the world. There was also in the port an American brig, deeply laden, pierced for eighteen guns, lying close in shore, with her yards and top-masts struck, and, her boarding nettings triced up, and in appearance prepared for defence; a large and clumsy-looking English brig was also lying there, with her sails unbent, her crew employed in tarring down her rigging; and as she was very light, I concluded she was a whaler repairing her damages after her passage around Cape Horn; and calculating that she perhaps might put to sea in a few days, I determined on running some distance to the northward, and then beating up, believing my chance of intercepting her, as well as of obtaining a knowledge of the departure of the Spanish ships, would be more likely by pursuing this plan than any other. I consequently stood to the northward; and as soon as we took the breeze again, made all sail, and in four hours we were thirty miles from Valparaiso. The wind now dying away, and believing my distance sufficiently great to avoid being seen, I hauled on a wind to the westward. In the course of this run, in which we made a north course from the point of Angels, we perceived two reefs of rocks, that lay a considerable distance from the shore; the first three leagues from Valparaiso, and one mile from the coast; the second of greater extent, twenty miles from Valparaiso, and two miles from the coast. On both these reefs the sea breaks with great violence, and several of the rocks shew themselves out of water; those were the only dangers that we discovered; the rest of the coast appeared safe and bold, and had the same dismal appearance as that we had seen to the southward, with the exception of numerous herds of cattle, which were grazing on the sunburnt hills.

      On the morning of the 15th, we succeeded in getting off the point of Angels, which I ranged at two cables' length from a

few scattering rocks, which lay at the distance of about a cable's length from the shore. We had been running in with a good breeze, but it died away calm off the point, when we furled all sails, and put our drags into operation to get into the harbour; but in the mean time dispatched lieutenant Downes to inform the governor, that we were an American frigate, greatly in want of supplies of every kind; and that our wants were greatly augmented by the loss of our store-ship off Cape Horn, and that we threw ourselves on their hospitality and generosity. I was induced to use this little artifice from a knowledge of the unaccommodating disposition of the Spaniards, and their jealousies respecting foreign vessels that enter the ports of their American possessions; and from the stand the United States had taken against the aggressions of Great Britain, as well as their conduct with respect to the Floridas, I had not reason to expect from them much amity, and only hoped to extort from them, under the plea of distress, permission to take in a few provisions, and to fill our water; and indeed it was not without many restrictions that I hoped to obtain even this indulgence. Before I had got to an anchor, however, the captain of the port, accompanied by another officer, and lieutenant Downes, came on board in the governor's barge, with an offer of every civility, assistance, and accommodation that Valparaiso could afford; and, to my astonishment, I was informed that they had shaken off their allegiance to Spain; that the ports of Chili were open to all nations; that they looked up to the United States of America for example and protection; that our arrival would be considered the most joyful event, as their commerce had been much harassed by corsairs from Peru, sent out by the viceroy of that province, to capture and send in for adjudication all American vessels destined for Chili, and that five of them had disappeared from before the port only a few days before my arrival, and had captured several American whalers, and sent them for Lima. This unexpected state of affairs, as may naturally be supposed (considering our existing wants), was calculated to afford me the utmost pleasure, as it promised us a speedy departure from Valparaiso

      The affair of the salute was arranged; and, after anchoring, I saluted the town with 21 guns, which were punctually returned immediately after which I waited on the governor, don Francisco Lastre, who gave me the most friendly, and at the same time unceremonious reception. On my passing the American armed brig Colt, she fired a salute of 9 guns, which was returned by the Essex by 7. I had not been long with the governor, before I discovered that I had, happily for my purpose, got among staunch republicans, men filled with revolutionary principles, and apparently desirous of establishing a form of government founded on liberty; but it could not be concealed that some of the leaven of the old Spanish regime was still among them; and that, however desirous they might appear of establishing liberty and equal rights, the chief aim of a few leading characters and designing men among them, was despotic power. The governor was himself one of those who owed his rise entirely to the revolution; his grade was that of a lieutenant in the navy, but was created governor on shaking off his allegiance to Ferdinand. It could, however, be perceived, that his excellency was rather lukewarm and cautious in his expressions, and was still desirous of preserving a creep-hole, in the event of the province returning again to its former masters; he was evidently one of those patriots whose best wishes are for themselves. The captain of the port, whose name I do not recollect, was a sterling honest patriot, and spoke his sentiments boldly; he evidently felt as those should feel who are determined to be free; appeared sensible they had yet much to do; and I am sure was resolved to do his utmost to emancipate his country.

      A courier was immediately dispatched, by the American deputy vice-consul, to Santiago, the capital of Chili, to inform Mr. Poinsett, the American consul-general, of our arrival in the port of Valparaiso; and arrangements were made for getting our wood, water, and provisions on board: the latter article I found could be procured in the greatest abundance, of an excellent quality, and at a more moderate price than in any port of the United States. I also directed a daily supply of fresh beef and vegetables, fruit and fresh bread, for the crew, and, by the time I completed these

arrangements, was informed that the governor intended returning my visit. I consequently went on board to receive him, and on his arrival, with a numerous suit of officers, saluted him with 11 guns. It appears that many of them had never before seen a frigate, all of them being native Chilians, and this being the first, since their recollection, that had entered the port. The Standard, a British ship of the line, had touched there four months since for refreshments, on her way to Lima, but some misunderstanding having taken place between them and her officers, there was but little intercourse between them. The visit lasted about two hours, during which time they visited every part of the ship; and although she appeared under great disadvantage, from having been so long at sea, and from the tempestuous passage around Cape Horn, still they were much pleased and astonished that Anglo-Americans, as they styled us, could build, equip, and manage ships of so large a size.

      The governor, before he left the ship, invited myself and officers to a party for the next evening, and expressed great regrets that we had not arrived sooner, as they had had the evening before great rejoicings, in consequence of a victory gained by their troops over those of Peru. It seems that a small, unimportant fortress belonging to the latter had fallen into the hands of the Chilians.

      Our purchases of provisions went on as well as I could desire, but our watering progressed but slowly, as the only place from whence we could procure it was a small well near the landing-place by the custom-house, which would only admit of four or five casks being filled before it gave out; we were then compelled to wait for some time for the water to run in, before we could fill any more; but as it afforded a supply of from 1000 to 1500 gallons per day, I concluded to fix the period of our departure on the 22d, allowing one week to get all our supplies.

      When we first arrived, a few boats came off with fruit, and, as was the case at St. Catharines, the most exorbitant prices were demanded for the most trifling article. However, as they continued to increase in numbers, I soon saw that the evil would be speedily removed; and as I permitted them to establish their market on board, our supply was in a few hours as abundant, and

at as low prices, as in the market on shore. Nothing could exceed the excellence and abundance of the apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, melons, onions, potatoes, and vegetables of every description. The potatoes are superior in size and quality to those of any other country, and are indigenous. Tons of the foregoing articles were sold to our people, which were laid by as a sea stock, as well as hogs and poultry in great numbers, and of the best qualities; the fowls are of the largest size, and of that kind called the China fowl, which were sold at the moderate price of 2 1/2 dollars per dozen; indeed I soon perceived, that, unless I placed some restrictions, my ship would be much encumbered with the stock on board her; I therefore, before my departure, gave directions that all the hogs belonging to the crew should be killed, except one for each mess; and this arrangement left upwards of 100 hogs on board, counting those belonging to the officers. No part of the world could have afforded us a more ample supply of every thing we wanted of the provision kind. The flour and bread were of a very superior quality, and could be procured in any quantities without difficulty. We could not, however, without considerable delay, procure salt provisions, except jerked beef: this was to be had in large quantities, and put up in a superior manner for exportation, in a net-work formed of strips of hide, containing one hundred weight. All the dry provision were put up in hides; the flour was better secured in them, and more closely packed, than it could possibly be in barrels; and, although much heavier, we found them more manageable. The use they make of hides is astonishing; the most of the furniture for their mules and horses, and their houses, and, on some parts of the coast, even their boats, or (as they are called) balsas, are made of this article. It is used for every purpose to which it is possible to apply it, either whole, cut in pieces, or in long strips. When used for balsas, two hides each, cut something in the form of a canoe, with the seam upwards, are blown up by means of a reed, and stopped together; a piece of board is then laid across to sit on, and on this frail machine they venture a considerable distance to sea. The laque, for the use of which the Chilians are so famous, is formed of a very long strip of hide, with a running

noose; and their dexterity in using it, in catching animals at full speed, is surprising. Every pack-horseman and driver of a jackass is furnished with one of them; and so much do they delight in them, or in showing their dexterity, that when they wish to catch any one of their drove, either to load, unload, or for any other purpose, they take their distance, deliberately coil up their lague, and never fail of throwing it over the neck of the animal wanted.

      On the 17th, capt. Munson, of the American brig in port, arrived from St. Jago, bringing me a letter from the consul-general, inviting myself and officers, in the name of the government of Chili, to visit the capital, and informing us that horses and every other convenience were provided for us on the road. Capt. Munson was also desired by the consul to inform me, that the president and junta, with a large military escort, would meet us at a considerable distance from the city, and that, in a political view, they considered our arrival as the most happy event. Capt. Munson stated, that the bells had been rung the whole day, and illuminations had taken place the evening after our arrival was announced, and that it was generally believed that I had brought from my country nothing less than proposals for a friendly alliance with Chili, and assurances of assistance in their struggle for independence. This idea I felt no disposition to do away with; and as I had not, since my arrival, given any hints of my object in this sea, I found it not too late to encourage a belief that suited my views and accorded with their wishes. I had prepared my officers and crew to secresy before my arrival, and had now no objection that the good people of this place should put the most favourable construction on our arrival among them, provided it did not traverse my only object, the getting a supply of provisions, a circumstance which their solicitude to oblige gave me no cause whatever to apprehend.

      When we were about to embark our provisions, it was signified to me by the deputy vice-consul, that the officer of the customs did not feel himself authorized to permit their embarkation free from duty, without orders from superior authority, unless we would enter into bonds to pay the duty, if it should be exacted by

the junta; the governor also had felt a delicacy on the subject, and had written to St. Jago for instructions. Knowing the favourable disposition of the superior government toward us, and learning that the officer of the customs was averse to the present form of government, and suspected of monarchical principles, I spurned the idea of entering into bonds, and refused to take any thing on board until I had full authority from the president and junta, which I was sure of getting without any material loss of time, as a courier was about being dispatched with my letter in reply to that of Mr. Poinsett, in which I took the opportunity of mentioning the circumstance. The governor, however, received orders the next day to permit us to take on beard whatever we pleased, free from every embarrassment of custom-house or other regulations, and was directed to afford myself and officers every facility and civility in his power, calculated to forward our views, and render our stay among them agreeable. This order the governor brought himself on board to shew me, and at my request furnished me a copy.

      Agreeably to the governor's invitation, we attended his party, where we found a much larger and more brilliant assemblage of ladies, than we could have expected in Valparaiso. We found much fancy and considerable taste displayed in their dress, and many of them, with the exception of teeth, very handsome, both in person and in face; their complexion remarkably fine, and their manners modest and attracting. This was our first impression on entering a room, containing perhaps 200 ladies, to whom we were perfect strangers. Minuets were introduced; country-dances followed; and the ladies had the complaisance and patience to attempt with my officers, what they had never before seen in the country, a cotillion, The intricacies of their country-dance were too great for us to attempt they were greatly delighted in by those who knew them, and admitted a display of much grace. With their grace, their beauty of person and complexion, and with their modesty, we were delighted, and could almost fancy we had gotten amongst our own fair country-women; but in one moment the illusion vanished. The ballas de tierra, as they are called, commenced: they consisted of the most

graceless, and at the same time fatiguing movements of the body and limbs, accompanied by the most indelicate and lascivious motions, gradually increasing in energy and violence, until the fair one, apparently overcome with passion, and evidently exhausted with fatigue, was compelled to retire to her seat; her rosy cheeks and fair complexion disappeared in the large drops of sweat which ran trickling down her neck and breast, and were succeeded by the sallow tinge which nature had bountifully bestowed.

      They daub themselves most lavishly with paint; but their features are agreeable, and their large dark eyes are remarkably brilliant and expressive; and, were it not for their bad teeth, occasioned by the too liberal use of the matti, they would, notwithstanding the Chilian tinge, be thought handsome, particularly by those who had been so long as we out of the way of seeing any women.

      The matti is a decoction of the herb of Paraguay, sweetened with sugar, and sucked hot through a long silver tube; to the use of this beverage the Chilians are perfect slaves. The taste is agreeable, but it occasions terrible havoc among the teeth. We returned on board our ship, pleased with the novelties of a Chilian ball, and much gratified by the solicitude shown by every one to make our stay amongst them agreeable. Invitations had been given by them to visit at their houses but time was too precious to us to be spent in amusements; all were busily engaged until the 20th in getting on board our supplies, and on the meridian of that day we had completed our water, and, with the exception of a few small articles, had as much provisions on board as the day we left the United States; those we calculated on taking on board while our accounts were in a train for settlement; and as the next day was Sunday, and we all required some relaxation from our fatigues, I determined to devote it to pleasure, and invited the ladies and gentlemen of Valparaiso to spend the afternoon on board the ship, all, as well as ourselves, being previously engaged for the evening at a ball, at the house of Mr. Blanquo, the vice-consul: for it must be understood that Spaniards, and particularly catholics, do not, like the people of protestant coun-

tries, spend their Sabbath in penance and prayers, but in feasting and dancing; and although a good catholic would consider himself damned to eternal flames if he neglected confession, or eat meat during lent, yet he is above the vulgar protestant prejudice of devoting one whole day in each week to the worship of the Almighty, when he has it in his power to spend it so much more agreeably in amusement. The consul-general had arrived from St. Jago, accompanied by don Lewis Carrera, the brother of the president; also the consul, a Mr. Heywell, and another American gentleman; they dined on board my ship on Saturday, and were saluted with 11 guns. On Sunday, about 3 o'clock, myself and officers were on shore with our boats to take the ladies on board the ship, she having been previously prepared for their entertainment; and we had all laid aside our national and religious prejudices, and devoted ourselves entirely to the pleasures of the day, when, at the moment we were on the point of embarking with them, an officer came from the ship to inform me that a large frigate had appeared in the offing, and on perceiving us had hauled in for the harbour. We all immediately left our fair Chilians, and without any ceremony jumped in our boats and repaired on board, where I found every thing prepared for getting under way. I soon perceived that the strange ship was a 32 gun frigate, gave orders to cut the cables, and in an instant the Essex was under a cloud of canvas; but as the breeze, which had until this moment blown, now failed, we got all our boats a-head, and towed out of the harbour, and in the course of an hour we were along side the stranger, which proved to be a Portuguese, and had been sent round by the government at Rio Janeiro, for the purpose of getting a supply of flour for Lisbon. As there was every expectation of an engagement, the consul-general, and several Americans and Spaniards, and don Lewis Carrera, came on board to share with us the dangers; the latter appeared to us a spirited youth (about 22 years of age), and as he had never been in any engagement of importance, was evidently anxious to partake of one. His constant request of me was to board the stranger, and his disappointment was great when he discovered Portuguese flag. We could perceive the hills crowded with men, women,

and children, all equally and perhaps more anxious than don Lewis to see the fight, and among them, as it afterwards proved, were our fair guests, who did not hesitate to declare their disappointment, and frankly acknowledged, that a sight of a sea engagement would have had more charms them, than all the entertainment we could have afforded them on board the ship.

      The wind continued light; and, the day being far advanced, I gave up all thoughts of returning to port that night, and stood off to sea, endeavouring to get to windward. Don Lewis, as well as his servants who accompanied him, soon became excessively sick; and however warlike he might have felt when he first came on board, he was now as helpless as an infant. We succeeded, by the help of our drags, in getting to our anchors early next morning, and were more fortunate in finding the buoys we had put to our cables than I had expected. We, immediately on securing our ship, took on board the remainder of our supplies; and an invitation was brought for us to dine and spend the evening with the governor, who, we could perceive by the flags about the battery in front of his house, had made great preparations for the occasion; and we were informed that the entertainment was given us by the order and at the expence of the superior government of Chili. The company was seated in an extensive tent, handsomely and fancifully decorated with the flags of different nations, and the ground covered with rich carpets; the dinner was served up in silver plate, and, with the exception of the blades of the knives alone, no other metal or substance whatever was used for any part of the table furniture. The dinner consisted of at least twenty changes; and by the time the third course had been removed we had cause to regret that we had not reserved our appetites for some of the delicacies which we perceived were likely to succeed the substantial food of the first course, which we had begun upon with keen appetites, and were soon cloyed. The officers of the Portuguese ship, and some English merchants, were also at table; but when the wine began to circulate, and the Chilian officers to feel the ardour of their patriotism, such flaming toasts were given, as to make them think it prudent for them to retire

      As the ball was to succeed the dinner in the tent, we walked round with the governor to look at the fortifications, which we found to be in tolerable order; and on our return found the ladies assembled, dressed in all their splendour, and unusually bedaubed with paint. The night was spent with much hilarity, and at one o'clock in the morning we repaired on board. Having now little to detain us, I intended sailing early; but the ladies seemed determined not to be cheated out of a visit to the ship, for the governor, his wife, with a boat-load of other ladies, came on board about nine o'clock, and remained until twelve, and on their leaving us, i saluted them with eleven guns. We now prepared to weigh our anchor; but the arrival of an American whale-ship, that had been carried into Lima, and there liberated (after great loss of time, and paying costs of suit), occasioned some little delay, as I was desirous of obtaining the news from her. The captain (Worth), on coming on board, informed me, that a few days before he had spoken with two English armed whalers, one off the Island of Mocha, the other off the harbour of Conception; that three other American whalers were in company; and that the English ships were the first that gave them the intelligence of the war, and informed them that they had no orders to capture American vessels, but were in daily expectation of authority to that effect. Captain Worth also informed me, that several English whaleships were cruizing among the Gallipagos islands, and off the harbor of Payta, on the coast of Peru, and recommended by all means my proceeding to those places, where I should be certain of meeting them; he also gave me such information as would render my falling in with them probable while running along the coast. He represented our whale-fishers, which were very numerous, as in a helpless and unprotected state, entirely exposed to attack and capture by the armed English ships in those seas, carrying from 14 to 20 guns, and well manned: he stated that, as our whaleships sometimes kept the sea for six months at a time, most of them were ignorant of the war, and would fall an easy and unsuspecting prey to the British ships: he informed me that he had heard of the capture of one American ship, which had been taken by a British letter of marque, and carried to Lima; but that the

government had not permitted her to remain there, and that she had proceeded for St. Helena to take convoy for England. After receiving this intelligence, I got under way and proceeded to sea, with a fresh breeze from the southward, steering N.W. to get an offing from the land.

      From my extreme occupation with my duty, and the rapidity of the events which took place during the week I remained at Valparaiso, it could scarcely be supposed that I could have an opportunity of making many observations on the place, the manners and customs of the people, or the political state of the country; perhaps no week of my life was ever more actively employed, both in labour and in pleasure; and had not a strong desire of serving our country to the utmost overcome every other consideration, we should have left Valparaiso with much regret; but during our stay there two Spanish ships had sailed for Lima, and the certainty that they would give intelligence of us to the enemy, made our speedy departure the more necessary, as it had always been my intention to visit that coast previous to my going to any other place; for, from all accounts, the coast of Peru, and from there to the Gallipagos, is the favourite fishing-ground of the British whalers; from thence I intended proceeding to the latter place, and to endeavour to arrive at their general rendezvous at Albemarle island, before the British agent at Lima could have an opportunity of giving them intelligence of my arrival in this sea; for it seemed beyond a doubt that they would conjecture that my designs were not confined to the doubling Cape Horn merely for the pleasure of visiting Valparaiso.

      While we lay at Valparaiso, I established it as a general rule, that every person belonging to the ship should be on board at gun-fire, at 8 P.M., unless on some special occasion, when I should be on shore with them at a party. This rule was violated by the carpenter, under the most aggravating circumstances; and, as he was a worthless fellow, I did not permit him to return on board the ship again. The gunner was detected in smuggling rum on board, contrary to the regulations of the ship; and, as he had conducted himself very improperly in other respects, I caused him to be confined in irons. Three Americans belonging

to the English brig in port claimed my protection, and I took them on board; and, as my prisoners were an incumbrance to me, I landed the whole of them the morning I left port, except one, who the evening before had attempted to make his escape by swimming away; and as this man had not confided in my generosity, I considered that he had forfeited all claim to it. I also intimated to Mr. Nelson, (a Dane found on board the Elizabeth, who preferred remaining with us,) that he could not remain any longer on board; and, as he was destitute of money, we raised a subscription suited to his immediate wants, and I gave him a letter to the consul-general, which, I am in hopes, will be the means of placing him in some employment that will afford him a support.

      The town of Valparaiso is pleasantly situated at the bottom of the bay, and is a place of considerable commerce. The anchorage is in front, and from two to five cables length from the shore, where vessels lie secure, and are sheltered from all except the north winds, which blow directly into the harbour, and occasion a considerable sea; and there have been instances of vessels having been driven on shore by them, and all hands perishing. On the eastern limits of the town, towards the village of Almandral, and near some rocks, is erected a cross, as a monument of the loss of a Spanish ship that was driven on shore there, and all her crew lost.

      The bay is entirely free from danger, and the only advice necessary for running into the harbour, is to stand in for the middle of the town, choosing your anchorage in from 25 to 7 fathoms water; the bottom is every where clean, and the holding ground good; and as the port has been so accurately and minutely described by Vancouver and others, any further directions would be superfluous.

      The customs of the inhabitants of this place differ so materially from our own (and perhaps from those of every other people), that I cannot help noticing a few particulars that struck me as the most singular.

      At all their dinner entertainments, the principal guest is placed at the head of the table, the host on one side of him, and the

hostess on the other; and their principal business appears to be to cram him with a part of every thing before him. This duty they are apt to perform most effectually, if he happens, like me, to be a stranger, and not aware of the variety of changes that are to be brought on, each one more and more inviting in their appearance and taste.

      There is another practice at their balls or evening parties, which at first gave me some embarrassment. A very large silver dish, filled with sweet jelly, was presented to me by a servant, as well as a silver plate and fork; believing that the whole dish could not be intended for me, I attempted to take the plate; this the servant objected to; I then attempted to take the dish, but to this she also objected; I felt, however, certain that it was intended for me to eat in some way or other, and was determined to do it in that way which appeared the most natural and convenient; I therefore took from her the plate and fork, and helped myself to as much as I thought I should want. The eyes of all the company, however, were on me, and I perceived that I had made some mistake, which I was soon convinced of, for the servant brought another plate with a fork, which was handed with the sweetmeats around to the company, and each one made use of the same fork to take a mouthful, holding their heads carefully over the dish in order that nothing might fall from their mouths to the floor; the fork was then laid on the plate, and passed to the next. The matti is taken with as little regard to delicacy or cleanliness. When the cup containing it is brought in, one of the company blows into it, through the silver tube, until a high froth is produced; it is then considered properly prepared. The same matti and tube is then passed around the room, and each one takes in turn a suck of it, with much apparent relish and delight; but, considering the rotten teeth and unsavoury breaths of the Chilians, there could not be a dose offered more repulsive to a delicate stomach, than this same frothy matti, served up in their style. It is also a practice for one glass of water, one spoon, or one segar, to be served to the whole company, and one would almost be led to believe: that they had a particular relish for the taste of each others dirty mouths. A Chilian lady would

sooner be caught in bed with a gentleman than be seen walking arm and arm with him; and their refinement is so great, that it is thought indelicate even to accept his hand in any way, except in dancing, when, to be sure, every thing like delicacy is laid aside. They are, however, extremely hospitable and attentive to strangers; and if they have their peculiar customs, which seem strange to us, we no doubt have our own equally deserving their animadversion.

      The whole power and force of the kingdom of Chili is now concentrated in one family, who have taken advantage of the state of anarchy into which it fell for want of rulers, and placed themselves at the head of government. This family is the Carreras. The eldest brother has created himself commander of the infantry; the second brother is president of the junta, and commander of the cavalry; and the third, don Lewis, is commander of the artillery; and they are altogether capable of bringing into the field 15,000 men, but they have not arms for more than 6,000. They are in alliance with the Buenos Ayreans, and have furnished them with 500 men, properly equipped, to assist them in carrying on their war against the Montivideans. The rest of their force, except a few men on the frontiers of Peru, remain unemployed; and indeed they all appear too much engaged in the pursuit of pleasures, and the gratification of their sensual appetites, to be capable of making any great military exertions.

      There is a strong and secret party opposed to the present administration, and favourable to the cause of Ferdinand VII.: they are styled saracens; the party in power are denominated patriots; the former are dangerous, and are not a little dreaded, from the concealed manner in which they carry on their hostilities; several of their emissaries have already been convicted of attempts to assassinate the officers of the present government; some have been sentenced to be hung, others to be banished to the island of Juan Fernandez. The patriots are known by a tricoloured cockade, blue, yellow, and white; and the ladies of that party are distinguished by wearing their hair gracefully brushed over on the left side of the face: they seem to have entered into

the spirit of the revolution, and perhaps not without cause, as most of the patriots are young, dashing native Chilians, and the adverse party are invariably crusty, old, formal Castilians. The patriots have not yet openly declared themselves independent, nor has any declaration of war taken place between them and the Peruvians; yet they have done what nearly amounts to the same thing; they have formed for themselves a constitution, one article of which punishes with death any person, residing in Chili, who shall entertain any intelligence with, or execute any order from any power, not resident within the state.

      After the governor's party, had broken up, Mr. Poinsett and don Lewis took their leave of me to proceed to St. Jago, and from thence they were to proceed with the president to Conception, with a view of fortifying and making the place more secure against foreign invasion.

      Before my departure, I wrote a letter to commodore Bainbridge, and enclosed it to the minister at Rio Janeiro, and sent them to Mr. Poinsett, to be forwarded.

      I shall now take my leave of Valparaiso, and continue my cruize

      On the morning of the 25th, at day-light, discovered a sail to the N.E., to which we gave chace and soon came up with. She proved to be the American whale-ship Charles, capt. Gardner, belonging to Nantucket, and had been about four months from Lima, where she had been sent for adjudication by a privateer belonging to that port, and had been liberated after paying costs. Capt. Gardner informed me, that, two days before, he had been in company with the American whale-ships Walker and Barclay, near the port of Coquimbo; that he had been chaced and fired at by a Spanish and an English ship; and that he saw them take possession of both the Walker and Barclay. I consequently crowded all sail, in company with the Charles, for Coquimbo, with an expectation of falling in with them, and at 8 o'clock descried a sail to the northward, to which I gave chace, and at meridian we were near enough to discover her to be a ship of war, disguised as a whaler, with whale-boats on her quarters. She shortly afterwards hoisted the Spanish flag, when we showed English colours, and fired a gun to leeward, which she shortly returned, and ran down for us. The Charles, agreeably to directions I had previously given capt. Gardner, hoisted an English jack over the American ensign; the Spaniard, when at the distance of a mile, fired a shot at us, which passed our bow. I immediately, from her appearance, and the description I had received of her, knew her to be one of the picaroons that had been for a long time harassing our commerce, and felt so exasperated at his firing a shot, that I was almost tempted to pour a broadside into him; but reflecting that we were under British colours, and that the insult was not intended for the American flag, I contented myself with firing a few shot over him to bring him down.

      Shortly afterwards, a boat was lowered down from her, and sent to the Essex; but perceiving her crew to be armed, I directed her to return immediately to the ship, with orders for her to run down under our lee, and for her commander to repair on board with his papers, and to apologize for firing a shot at us. She soon returned with the second lieutenant, who brought her commission, and stated that the captain was too unwell to leave his ship. She proved to be the Peruvian privateer Nereyda, of 15 guns; and the lieutenant informed me that they were cruizing for American vessels, and had captured the Barclay and Walker in the port of Coquimbo, but that the British letter of marque Nimrod, captain Perry, had driven their people from on board the Walker, and taken possession of her, and that they were in search of the Nimrod, to endeavour to recover their prize; that seeing us, with the Charles in company, they had supposed us to be the vessels they were in search of, and this had been the cause of their firing the shot. He stated that the Peruvians were the allies of Great Britain; that he had always respected the British flag; and that his sole object was the capture of American vessels; that he had been out four months, and had only met the aforesaid vessels; and that the crew of the Barclay, and the captain and part of the crew of the Walker, were now detained as prisoners on board the Nereyda. I informed him that I wished to see the captain of the Walker, and one of the prisoners from the Barclay; and informed him, that if his captain was too unwell to come on board, it would he necessary for the first lieutenant to repair on board, and make the apology required; on which he dispatched his boat to the Nereyda, and, on her return, she brought captain West, of the Walker, and one of the crew of the Barclay as will as the first lieutenant of the Nereyda. On taking captain West into the cabin, and assuring him that he was on board an American frigate, he informed me that he, as well as the rest of the Americans on board the Nereyda, amounting to twenty-three, had been plundered of every thing; that the Spaniards had not assigned any other motives for the capture of the vessels, than that they were Americans; that both his ship and the Barclay were employed solely in the whale fishery, and not concerned in any mercantile pursuit whatever;

that both ships had a full cargo of oil, and were about returning to America, and had put into Coquimbo far refreshments; and that the first intelligence they had received of the war was at the time of their capture.

      The Nereyda was now under the muzzle of our guns, and I directed the American flag to be hoisted, and fired two shot over her, when she struck her colours. I then sent lieutenant Downes to take possession of her, with directions to send all the Spaniards on board the Essex; and as I had reason to expect that the Nimrod and the other ships were some where in our neighbourhood, I stood in shore, with a view of looking into Tongue Bay and Coquimbo, sending lieutenant M'Knight to take charge of the Nereyda for the night; and next morning had all her guns, ammunition, and small arms thrown overboard, as well as all her light sails. What surprized us very much was, that all the shot of this vessel, round, bar, and star shot, were made of copper; and I have since been informed, that this metal is in such abundance, and is so cheap in Peru and Chili, as to be held in very little estimation, and there is no comparison between the value of that and iron; for, wanting a few nails while at Valparaiso, I found they-could not be procured for less than one dollar per pound; but it seemed equally curious, that, although copper was in such abundance, and brass guns are so far preferable to iron, yet all the guns of this vessel, except one, were cast of the latter metal, differing in this respect from the customs of every other part of the world. After I had completely dismantled her, leaving her only her top-sails and courses to take her back to Callao, which is the port of Lima, I liberated all the Americans from on board of her, sent back all the Spaniards, and directed her commander to proceed to Lima with the following letter to the viceroy

YOUR EXCELLENCY,

      I have this day met with the ship Nereyda, mounting fifteen guns, bearing you excellency's patent, and sailing under the Spanish flag.

      On examination of said ship, I found on board her, as prisoners, the officers and crews of two vessels belonging to the United States of America, employed solely in the whale-fishery of those seas, captured by her, and sent for Lima, after being plundered of boats, cordage, provisions, clothing, and various other articles; and was informed by her officers, that they were cruizing, as the allies of Great Britain, to capture and send in for adjudication all American vessels they should meet with, alleging, at the same time, that they had not your excellency's authority for such proceedings.

      I have, therefore, to preserve the good understanding which should ever exist between the government of the United States and the provinces of Spanish America, determined to prevent in future such vexatious and piratical conduct, and with this view have deprived the Nereyda of the means of doing the American commerce any farther injury for the present, and have sent her to Lima, in order that her commander may meet with such punishment from your excellency as his offence may deserve.

      I have the honour to be, with the highest respect and consideration, your excellency's obedient humble servant,
                        (Signed)                                    D. PORTER

His excellency the viceroy of Peru, Lima.

      I then left the Nereyda, and looked into Tongue Bay; but, perceiving no vessels, I stood on for Coquimbo, and at sundown arrived within five miles of some small rocks, called the Chinques, which lay off the mouth of the bay. I then caused one of the whale-boats to be manned (both of which I had taken from the Nereyda, as they belonged to the captured ships), and sent her in with lieutenant Downes and captain West to reconnoitre the harbour, lying off and on with the ship until they returned, which was not until 11 o'clock that night. I had fixed on signals, by which lieutenant Downes was to inform me whether the ships were in the port, as well as such by which the boat could find the Essex: the latter were observed from the shore, for immediately after we had made them, several alarm guns were fired from the battery, which consisted, as I was informed, of six guns,

without platform or breastwork. The boat had entered the harbour, and gone all around it, and had approached so near the shore and battery as to hear the people talking, without being discovered. Finding that the Nimrod was not at this place, I thought it probable that she had proceeded, with a view of intercepting the Barclay, on her way to Lima; and this I was the more strongly induced to believe, as the captain of that ship had stated his determination of taking the Barclay from the Spaniards, alleging, that, as she had not been engaged in any contraband or illicit trade, they had no right to capture her, and that the Peruvian government would certainly liberate her on her arrival at Calao, and by this means he should be cheated out of a prize. I therefore determined to lose no time in endeavouring to get on to the northward, on the coast of Peru, where I hoped to arrive in time, not only to frustrate the views of the captain of the Nimrod, but to recapture the Barclay and the Walker; for I considered the capture of the Nimrod of the greatest importance to our national interests in those seas, and while there was a chance of effecting this object, provided it did not interfere too much with my other views, I thought the pursuit of her should not be abandoned. To captains Gardener and West I intimated my intentions, advising the former to run into Coquimbo, and there demand for his vessel the protection of government. The latter I advised to proceed with all expedition to St. Jago, and lay his claim for damages before the government.

      I gave the Americans whom I had liberated from the Nereyda choice, either to remain in the Essex, or be landed at Coquimbo. nine of them preferred remaining; the remainder, with captain West, were put on board the Charles, who made sail in for the harbour, and I steered to the N.W., with all the sail we could crowd.

      Prior to leaving captains Gardner and West, I requested them to give me a list of all the whale ships, both English and American, that they could recollect, and were certain of being now in this sea. They both agreed that the Gallipagos was the most likely place to find them in, and confirmed in every particular the

account given by captain Worth. The list they gave me follows;

      These were all the vessels, the names of which they could at the moment recollect; but they assured me that the number of British whalers now on the coast of Chili and Peru did not amount to less than twenty, and were all fine ships of not less than 400 tons burthen, and that their cargoes in England would be worth g 200,000 each, which, agreeably to this estimate, would be upwards of four millions of British property now exposed to us; for I did not conceive that their whole force united would be a match for the Essex: but besides the capture and destruction of those vessels, I had another object in view, of no less importance, which was the protection of the American whale-ships; and if I should only succeed in driving the British from the ocean, and leaving it free for our own vessels, I conceive that I shall have rendered an essential service to my country, and that the effecting this object alone would be a sufficient compensation for the hardships and dangers we have experienced, and be considered a justification for departing from the letter of my instructions. That I can effect this, no doubts exist, provided the Standard has left Lima; and this it is necessary I should be informed of, before I make my attack on the Gallipagos, for I have knowledge of letters having been written to Lima by an active English merchant (perhaps an agent of the British government), residing at Valparaiso; they were sent by the ships which sailed four days before us; but as they had the reputation of being bad sailers, and calculating some on Spanish indolence, and much on our own activity and industry, I am in hopes of looking into Lima before they can arrive there, and shall so disguise the ship, that she cannot be known there from any description that the aforesaid letters may contain. Until information respecting the Standard can be obtained, all my proceedings must be governed by views toward that vessel, she being the only vessel of war the British have in those seas, and I can have but little apprehension of being pursued by any from the

Atlantic for some months, or at least until I have time to do them much injury; for although information had been sent from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso, giving information of my being on the coast of Brazils, and this information had reached Valparaiso two weeks before my arrival, yet they could have had an idea of my intention of coming into this sea, as it was known to every person but myself, until after passing the river of Plate. The same mail that brought intelligence of my being on the coast of Brazils, also gave information of an action having been fought off Bahia between the American frigate Constitution, and the British frigate Java, of 44 guns, in which the latter was sunk; also of the capture of her convoy; and of some small place on the coast of Africa having been laid under contribution by the squadron under the command of commodore Rodgers. It was also stated, that the Wasp, an American sloop of war, had captured a British sloop of war, after a hard-fought action, but had afterwards been captured by a frigate; and that the Constitution was repairing her damages in St. Salvador, where the British admiral (Dixon) had proceeded, with a determination of destroying her. This news of the operations of our little navy makes us pant for an opportunity of doing something ourselves. We have however a wide field for enterprize before us, and shall shortly enter on the scene of action; and although, perhaps, we shall neither have an opportunity of laying towns under contribution, nor sinking frigates, still we hope to render a service to our country no less essential, to wit: the protection of our commerce, and the destruction of that of the enemy.

      On the 28th, I made all sail to the northward, and on the 3d April made the high land of Nasia, on the coast of Peru. The interval between these two periods was not marked by any extraordinary occurrence; we were employed in taking all advantages of the winds in getting to the northward, and in disguising our ship, which was done by painting her in such a manner as to conceal her real force, and exhibiting in its stead the appearance of painted guns, &c.; also by giving her the appearance of having a poop, and otherwise so altering her, as to give her completely the appearance of a Spanish merchant vessel. The winds were

constantly fair; the weather remarkably clear, fine, and temperate; the sea smooth; and every thing favourable for making such little repairs and alterations as the ship required.

      Immediately on passing the tropic, we met with flying-fish: this is the first we met with since we left the coast of Brazil.

      At 6 o'clock of the 28th, we were abreast the island of Sangallan, or St. Gallan, when I hauled off to the N.W., with a view of crossing the track of vessels bound to Calao; and on the morning of the 29th, to the great joy of all on board, we discovered three sail standing in for the harbour, two to windward and one to leeward. I consequently made all sail for the port to cut them off, and, as I approached the headmost vessel, she seemed to answer the description I had received of the Barclay; and as she was nearest to the port, I determined to turn all my attention to her, and to use every effort to prevent her getting in; but as she approached the island of St. Lorenzo, which lies off the port of Calao, I began to despair of succeeding. I however directed all the light sails to be wet, in order to make them hold wind the better, and prepared my boats to send in to bring her out of the harbour, if she should succeed in getting past the island. As I approached St. Lorenzo, I discovered that she would be becalmed so soon as she doubled the point of the island, as she eventually was. We were, at the moment of her turning the point, at the distance of 2 1/2 miles from her, but shot in with the breeze to within 100 yards of her, then lowered the boats down, and sent on board to tow her out, which was not effected without considerable labour, in consequence of an indraught. As we were but a short distance from the shipping in the harbour, and perceiving the two Spanish vessels had not arrived from Valparaiso, I hoisted English colours on board the Essex, and directed the officer of the captured vessel (which proved to he the Barclay) to hoist English colours over the American. The vessels in port, which were numerous, now hoisted their colours, which were all Spanish except one British flag hoisted on board an armed ship, which did not answer the description of the Nimrod. The other strange vessels continued standing in; one of them had the appearance of a coasting brig, the other a fine-looking ship; and

we were induced to believe her the Nimrod, from the description we had received of that vessel I therefore took a position to prevent her passing the point, when she hauled her wind to go between the island and main, where there is a passage for ships of large burthen, but shortly afterwards bore up, under a press of sail, to run by us, and on his near approach I perceived it to be one of the Spanish vessels that had sailed from Valparaiso before us. I felt satisfied that we had so altered the vessel, that they could not know us; besides, how was it possible that they could expect to find the Essex off Calao, when they left her at Valparaiso, beginning to take in provisions and water? On her getting into the calms under the lee of the island, I dispatched a boat to get the news from her, but recalled her on seeing the guard-boat go on board. I now sent for the captain of the Barclay (Randall), informed him he was at liberty to act as he thought proper with respect to his ship, and that, although his crew had entered with me, they were at liberty to return to the Barclay, if they were disposed to do so; but as they expressed their determination not to return to that ship, the captain informed me he was entirely at a loss what course to pursue, and asked my advice. I at the moment felt as much embarrassment as he; for he was without hands, except two or three who were down with the scurvy, having been constantly at sea for seven months without refreshments. No port on the coast of Peru could afford him a shelter, as our destruction of the armament of the Nereyda, in consequence of the capture of the Barclay, would render the condemnation of that vessel highly probable, if she should again be in the power of the Peruvians; and even if the remainder of his crew were all healthy, they would not be strong enough to take her to Valparaiso, or any other port of Chili, even if there was nothing to be apprehended from capture by British and Peruvian vessels. I however concluded to give him ail the protection in my power, and advised him to remain by me, offering to put on board hands enough to work his vessel, and promised not to leave him until I had put him in a place of safety. With this promise he appeared much pleased, and offered his services to me in any way he could prove useful, giving me assurances that

he could take me where the British whale-vessels most frequented, advising me, by all means, to proceed to the islands of Gallapagos, keeping at the distance of from 30 to 50 leagues from the land, and on my way looking into Payta. He confirmed, in every respect, the information respecting the British whalers that I had formerly received, and assured me that there were many other vessels of that description, and others engaged in contraband trade, now on the coast, but had no doubt we could find as many as we could conveniently man among the islands, as well as the American vessels they might have captured. After putting on board the Barclay midshipman Cowan and eight men, and fixing on Payta and the Gallapagos as the places of rendezvous, in case of separation, also furnishing him with suitable signals, and giving him instructions to steer such courses as would enable us to spread over as much ground as possible in our track, I shaped my course to the W.N.W., to run between the rocks of Pelado and the Hormigas, which lie about 30 miles from Calao.

      The town of Calao is the sea-port of Lima, from which the latter is distant about three leagues. Calao is an open roadstead but as the wind here always blows from the southward, and never with violence, and as it is well sheltered from this quarter by the projecting capes, and by the island of Lorenzo, it is considered in this sea as one of the safest harbours for vessels. In this place all the trade of Peru centres; it is apparently well fortified by batteries on shore, and is said to be well protected, in addition to those, by a formidable flotilla of gun-boats; and the calms which appear to prevail in the bay seem to render this mode of defence very proper; and if this is the case, it must be very dangerous for hostile vessels to venture beyond the island of St. Lorenzo. Off the point of St. Lorenzo is a very suitable station for a vessel blockading Calao, as she can there, in consequence of the calms, prevent every vessel from going in, as she can run in and have the breeze at the distance of half gun-shot of them, after they have doubled the point, and while they are perfectly becalmed; and while they are, in this situation, exposed to her guns, the boats can take possession and tow them out.

      While we lay to here, I observed the sea filled with small red specks, and supposed at first that some hog had been killed on board, and that part of the blood was floating along side; but on a close examination I perceived them to have at times a very quick motion, and on directing some of them to be caught in a bucket, discovered them to be young craw-fish, of different sizes, but generally from one inch in length to one tenth that size. The ocean appeared filled with them; and from the immense number of birds that kept about this spot, I am induced to believe, that no small numbers of them were daily devoured by them. They did not appear to be governed by any general laws, each one pursuing his own course, and shifting for himself; no two appearing in the same direction; and it is probable that, as soon as they left the egg, each one began to seek his own subsistence. Two of them were put into a bottle of sea-water, and on some crumbs of bread being thrown in, they seized and devoured them very ravenously.

      About this time I concluded to change the water in which the fish had been put, that was pumped out of the cask off Cape Horn. To this period it had been very lively; but perceiving the water to have a yellow tinge, and feeling apprehensive that it might undergo fermentation, from the food which had at different times been thrown in, I supposed that pure water would be better than that in which he had been so long confined, but supposed it best to produce a gradual change; with this view I put into the bottle about one gill of the water we had taken on board at Valparaiso. The water in the bottle gradually assumed a milky appearance, and next morning I found the fish dead and floating on the surface. This confirmed suspicions we had before entertained, of the bad qualities of this water. Doctor Miller, who was in a very low state of health, and had been since he joined the Essex, complained of its producing costiveness. I also, and many others, experienced the same effect; it has a disagreeable brackish taste, and with great difficulty it can be made to mix with soap.

      On the evening of the 4th, James Spafford, the gunner's mate who had been so unfortunately wounded by accident at Mocha, departed this life, regretted by every officer and man in the ship

      He had distinguished himself by his moral and correct conduct since he had been under my command, and I had intended promoting him to a better situation, so soon as circumstances should admit.

      I conceived it necessary to hold an inquest over his body, as well to satisfy the crew, and to remove every erroneous impression on the subject, as to relieve the officer himself, who had been the unfortunate cause of the death of this poor fellow. I consequently issued the following order;

      After this the body of Spafford was committed to the deep, according to the funeral ceremonies of the church.

      We, as I before observed, steered to the W.N.W., and at 2 P.M., on the 6th, the man at the mast-head cried out a sail; but on standing toward it, in a short time discovered it to be the Rock of Pelado, bearing N.E. by N. We soon gave up the chase, and stood on our course, as I was anxious to get an offing to fall in with the track of whalers, as, from the best information I could collect on this subject, on this part of the coast they keep at the distance of from 30 to 50 leagues.

      At half-past 3, a sail was discovered from the mast-head, bearing W.N.W., and we immediately made all sail in chase of her, the Barclay making every exertion to keep up with us; but by sundown we had run her out of sight astern. At 7 o'clock, we brought the chase to. She proved to be a Spanish brig from Calao, bound to Conception, but had taken in a load of salt at Oucho, a place a short distance to the north of Calao. The captain and supercargo of this vessel both came on board, and, supposing the Essex to be an English vessel, were disposed to give us every information in their power and, what was of the utmost importance to us, they informed me that an English frigate had been for some time expected at Calao, from Cadiz, for the purpose of taking in money, and that the money which was to compose her cargo was nearly all collected He also informed me, that an English armed ship had put in there in distress a few days since, having sprung a leak; that two English whale-ships had, within a few days, sailed from thence that they had been sent in for adjudication by the corsairs of Peru, and on examination had been liberated. On enquiry respecting the disposition of the government of Peru towards those of the United States and Great Britain, they informed me, that the latter was held in high repute, and its vessels treated with great civility, in consequence of being the allies of Spain; but that the former were held in very little estimation; and that, although war had not actually taken place between Spain and the United States, it was momentarily expected, and every preparation was made in Peru to meet it; that the Americans were notorious violators of their

revenue laws (grandes contrabandistas), and neither received nor expected much civility; however, it was the policy of the government of Peru to hold out ideas and the appearance of a strict neutrality, and therefore British vessels were not allowed to dispose of their prizes at Calao. The supercargo of this vessel appeared to be a man of considerable intelligence; and when I enquired where was the most suitable place to proceed to give protection to British vessels, and annoy those of the United States, he advised me to go to leeward, observing, that the Gallapagos islands were much frequented by the British whale-ships, and between that and the latitude of the Lobos islands, I should most likely find. many Americans, as the sea thereabouts was full of them. The Barclay was now a great distance astern; but as we ran to the northward under easy sail, after leaving the Spaniard, and made flashes at intervals, she was enabled to join us by midnight.

      At day-light in the morning, we stretched away to the westward, leaving the Barclay to steer to the northward, and spread to such a distance as just to see her signals, and closed again at night. This course we pursued until our arrival off Cape Ajugia, where we arrived on the morning of the 10th, and in the course of our run saw but two vessels, only one of which we spoke, knowing them to be Spaniards. She was a small brig from Guyaquil, bound to the southward, and could give us no information whatever. In our run we passed near the islands of Lobos de la Mare, and Lobos de la Terre; they are two small islands, situated some distance from the continent, and at the distance of 5 leagues from each other, bearing N.N.W. and S.S.E.; they appear to be perfectly destitute of vegetation, and serve as a residence to an immense number of birds, with which the hills were covered; and there can be no doubt that an abundance of seals may be caught on them, as in passing we were surrounded with them, one of which we struck with the harpoon. The sea was here also covered with pelicans, and various other aquatic birds, feeding on the schools of small fish, which were to be seen in great numbers, constantly pursued by seals, boneters, and porpoises; and such as attempted to escape their ravenous jaws

by jumping out of the water, were immediately snapped up by the innumerable swarms of birds that were hovering over them.

      On our arrival off Ajugia, we had another opportunity of witnessing a similar scene, and as the water was perfectly smooth and the winds light, we were enabled to examine it more minutely. We discovered the sea boiling violently in many places, and wherever this was the case, vast numbers of seals, large fish, and birds, were apparently in pursuit of small fish. On approaching one of those places, the water had so much the appearance of having been put into action by violent currents, opposed by sunken rocks, that I felt some uneasiness, and directed the helm to be put a-weather to avoid it; however, the next one had the same appearance, and was equally attended by fish I therefore steered close to it, and saw that in the centre of the agitated spot (which bore the appearance of water boiling in a pot), were myriads of small fish, which were collected together, and appeared as though it were impossible for them to escape from this violent whirlpool, which was so powerful as to affect considerably the steerage of the ship. Whether this boiling of the water was occasioned by the vast numbers of seals and large fish which kept constantly darting in among the small fry, which were drawn as it were to a focus, I will not pretend to say; it is possible, however, that whales, or some fish perhaps as large as whales, which did not show themselves above the surface, might also have been concerned in the pursuit, and occasioned the agitation that so much surprized us; for I cannot think it possible that the seals and bonetas, numerous as they were, could have produced so violent a commotion.

      A breeze springing up, we stood away for Payta, with a view of looking into that port, and at sundown were in sight of the island of Lobos, which lies a short distance to the southward, where we hove to for the Barclay to come up, as we had nearly run her out of sight; and, after speaking her, stretched off under easy sail, and at 2 o'clock in the morning made sail in shore. The weather at sunrise was hazy, and prevented us for some time from seeing the saddle of Payta, which is a remarkable irregular mountain to the south of Payta, and when once seen can-

not be mistaken, the highest part making something like a saddle, and running away to a low point to the northward, which is the point forming the harbour of Payta. As we stood in shore, we discovered two small sail coming out from Payta, and as we approached them were at a loss to know what to make of them; but at last discovered them to be two rafts or catamarans, steering by the wind, having each six men to work them. I had at first believed them to be fishing rafts from Payta, but was surprized they should have ventured so great a distance from the land, as we were, when we spoke them, about 7 leagues off shore, and was induced, from their strange appearance, to visit them. On going along side, I learnt, to my astonishment, that they were from Guyaquil, with cargoes of cocoa, bound to Guacho, a port to leeward of Lima, and had already been out 30 days. They were destitute of water, and had no other provisions on board than a few rotten plantains. We however perceived a number of fish bones and pieces of fish scattered about the rafts, which induced us to believe that they were enabled to catch an abundance of fish, which no doubt follow them to get the small barnacles and grass with which the logs were plentifully supplied. Nothing can exceed the miserable construction of these floats: eight logs, of from 25 to 30 feet in length, with the bark scarcely taken off, and three pieces lashed across with a kind of grass rope, form the floor; each side is formed of two logs, laid on one another, and the deck is composed of rough logs, laid crosswise, and projecting from 4 to 6 feet beyond the sides, and all lashed (though very insecurely) together; forward and aft are some pieces of board, from 3 to 4 feet in length, stuck down between the logs forming the floor, and serve as a substitute for a keel; a mast stepped in between the logs of the floor, and, instead of partners, secured by a lashing from side to side, and having the additional security of a stay and a shroud, which is shifted always to the weather side, and to this is hoisted a large lug-sail made of cotton. Their ground tackling consists of some bark, twisted in the form of a rope, which serves as a cable, and a large stone, with a stick lashed to it, of about 18 inches long, for a stock, serves as an anchor; she is steered by a paddle, carries her cargo on the logs

forming the deck, and has, as a substitute for a caboose, a small quantity of dirt thrown on the logs that project beyond the sides forward. The crews appear equally as miserable in their appearance as the machine they navigate on, and it excited no little surprize in our minds when we were informed, that the navigation from Guyaquil to Lima, a distance of about 600 miles, against a constant head wind, and frequently rapid current, should be very common with those rafts. This passage takes them two months; and there can be no stronger proof of the mildness of this ocean, so justly, in this part, deserving the name of the Pacific, than the fact that the loss of those vessels, frail as they are, is very uncommon; nor can there he a more convincing instance of the unenlightened state of the people of this part of the world, than that they should continue the use of such barbarous vessels, when the fastest sailing vessels are so necessary, and where materials for building them are so abundant, and where the state of the climate will admit of vessels of such construction as best suits their purpose, without any apprehensions of danger from the violence of the sea: but so far are they behind hand in civilization and intelligence with the rest of the world, that the appearance of all the vessels built on the Spanish coast of the Pacific (except the few built at Guyaquil) bespeaks the extreme ignorance of the constructor as well as the navigator. There are established at Guyaquil some European constructors, who have built large vessels, that have been justly admired in Europe and other parts of the world: but nothing, except the catamarans, can be more clumsy in their appearance, and apparently more unsuitable to the navigation of this ocean, than the miserable vessels employed in the coasting trade of Peru.

      The two catamarans above mentioned had looked into the harbour of Payta, and were consequently enabled to give me all the intelligence I required. They informed me there were no vessels lying there, except two or three small coasting vessels; and as there was now no necessity for shewing ourselves before that place, I shaped my course for the Gallapagos Islands, directing the Barclay to steer W.N.W. by compass, in order that we might fall in with the latitude to the eastward of them, intimating to her com-

mander, that I should, from time to time, so vary from this course, as to look over as much ground in our way as possible; and this method we put in practice until we made Chatham Island, which was on the morning of the 17th, During our run we had no opportunity of correcting our dead reckoning by lunar observations, nor have we had a chance of ascertaining the rate of the chronometer since leaving St. Catharines. We were enabled to discover by our latitude, that we had a current of 15 miles per 24 hours, setting to the northward; and from the violent ripples we frequently met with, we were induced to believe, that its rate was much greater, and concluded it set also westerly; and, on our making the land, found we had, since taking our departure from Payta, been set two degrees a-head of our reckoning. We employed ourselves, during our passage, in getting our magazine in good order for service, as we had been led to expect some resistance from the heavy armed letters of marque that we expected to meet among the Gallapagos, employed in the whale fishery; and as we had understood that calms were very prevalent there, we prepared our boats in the best manner for attacking them, selecting crews for them in addition to their oarsmen; and laid clown plans of attack, established signals for them; and the whole, amounting to 7 boats, carrying 70 men, were placed under the command of lieut. Downes.

      I discovered that we should meet with great delays from the prevalence of calms; and as I could form no plans for future operations until my arrival at the general rendezvous of the whalers, I considered it advisable to put the crew on, two quarts of water per day. This reduction was now severely felt, as the weather was extremely hot; but all seemed reconciled to bear every privation without a murmur. The health of the crew had improved in a remarkable manner since leaving Valparaiso, and at this time we had but two men on the sick list, one affected by chronic debility, the other by a pain in the muscles of the neck, but neither disabled from coming to their quarters. Doctor Miller, the surgeon of the ship, a very infirm man, who was in a deep consumption when he joined the ship, and whose health had not improved on board her, requested permission to go with his

servant on board the Barclay, and there remain, as he believed that a change of water, pure air, and greater tranquillity would render his situation more tolerable; and as the extreme debility of the gentleman prevented him entirely from doing his duty on board, and as he was constantly complaining of his suffering from the confined air of this ship, I was happy he had fallen on an expedient to render his existence more supportable, and took the first opportunity of sending him on board the Barclay, where he soon found himself more comfortably situated than among the noise and confusion of a man of war, for which his low state of health entirely unsuited him

      On our first making Chatham Island, which bore, on the morning of the 17th, N.W. by N., distant about 35 miles, I supposed it to be Hood's Island, a common stopping-place for whalers; and as this was one of the islands I was desirous of examining for them, I hauled in for it, making a signal for the Barclay to do the same; but shortly afterwards discovered Hood's Island bearing west, and bore away for it. At 7 o'clock in the evening, we were abreast the anchorage place on the N.W. part of the island, which is a good shelter from the prevalent winds; and a small island which lies off forms a secure bay, where vessels lie at anchor in 12 fathoms water, clear white sandy bottom,. Here wood is to be obtained, and land tortoises in great numbers, which are highly esteemed for their excellence, and are remarkable for their size, weighing from 3 to 400 weight each. Vessels on whaling voyages among these islands generally take on hoard from 2 to 300 of these animals, and stow them in the hold, where, strange as it may appear, they have been known to live for a year, without food or water, and, when killed at the expiration of that time, found greatly improved in fatness and flavour. Into this bay I sent lieut. Downes with a whale-boat (I had purchased from capt. Randall) properly armed, to reconnoitre, and directed him to make a signal on discovering vessels, in order that we might send in our other boats; but at 10 o'clock he returned, afar having sounded the bay without seeing any. We had entertained strong hopes of meeting enemies' vessels here, but bore the disappointment better than might be expected, considering the length of time that has elapsed since we have seen one of that description. We now hauled off toward Chatham Island, and lay to for the night, as I did not think It prudent to run for Charles' Island, the next place I intended to visit, until I could

have day-light, as a reef is said to exist about two leagues to the W.N.W. of Hood's island, and one is known to lie about nine leagues to the west of it, both said to be very dangerous; and, what is calculated to render them the more so, is the violent and irregular currents, that baffle all attempts at calculation in this part of the world. In the morning I stood to the westward, with a pleasant breeze from the east, which run us, by 2 P.M., as far as the harbour of Charles' Island. On arriving opposite to it, we could perceive no vessels; but understanding that vessels which stopped there for refreshments, such as turtle and land tortoise, and for wood, were in the practice of depositing letters in a box placed for the purpose near the landing-place (which is a small beach sheltered by rocks, about the middle of the bay), I dispatched lieut. Downes to ascertain if any vessels had been lately there, and to bring off such letters as might be of use to us, if he should find any. He returned in about three hours, with several papers, taken from a box which he found nailed to a post, over which was a black sign, on which was painted Hathaway's Post-office. There were none of them of a late date, but they were satisfactory, inasmuch as they confirmed the information we had already received, both as respected the practice of vessels touching there, and cruizing among the other islands for whales. From those papers I obtained information, that, in June last, the following British whale-ships had put in there, on their way to the island of Albemarle, where they generally cruize for a year at a time, and some for even a longer period, to wit;

      There were letters also from their commanders, giving information that the American ships Perseveranda, Paddock, and the Sukey, Mary, [sic] the first with 200, the latter with 150 bbls. of sperm oil, had touched there. Considering captain Macy's letter as

a rare specimen of literature, I hope I shall be pardoned for giving an exact copy of it

is a small spring of water: this a stranger might not be acquainted with, or, if he had a knowledge of it, might not have strength to reach it; but if the stream in question existed constantly, where would be the necessity of leaving this cask of water along side of it?

      This island is mountainous (as are the whole group), and is covered with trees from 15 to 20 feet in length, scattered with considerable regularity, as to distance and appearance, on the sides of the hills, which all have evident marks of volcanic origin; but what seems remarkable is, that every tree on the island, at least all that could be approached by the boat's crew on shore, and such as we could perceive by means of our perspectives, were dead and withered. This must have been occasioned by the prevalence of an excessive drought, which entirely deprived them of the necessary moisture; and as this island is not of so great an elevation as many others, which has probably been the cause of its suffering more than the larger and higher ones, though they ail seem more or less affected from the same cause; and as all the trees on the islands I have yet seen, appear much of the same size, not excepting those in the most flourishing state, it seems not improbable, that the drought has not only been recent, but that it has affected the whole at the same time; and as the whole group is destitute of trees of a large size, it seems reasonable to believe, that their vegetation may be checked at different periods by very dry seasons, and to this cause may be owing their being deprived of streams of waters; for although it seldom rains on shore, and never at sea here, yet the tops of the mountains are almost constantly covered with thick clouds, great part of the moisture from which, instead of being soaked up by the light and spongy soil of the mountains, would find its way in running streams to the sea, were the islands ,sufficiently furnished with trees to condense more constantly the atmosphere, and interlace their roots to prevent its escape into the bowels of the mountains.

      These islands are all evidently of volcanic production; every mountain and hill is the crater of an extinguished volcano; and thousands of smaller fissures, which have burst from their sides, give them the most dreary, desolate, and inhospitable appearance

imaginable. The description of one island will answer for all I ave yet seen; they appear unsuited for the residence of man, or any other animal that cannot, like the tortoises, live without food, or cannot draw its subsistence entirely from the sea.

      Lieutenant Downes saw on the rocks with which the bay was in many parts skirted, several seals and pelicans, some of which he killed; but, on searching diligently the shore, was unable to find any land-tortoises, though they no doubt abound in other parts of the island. Doves were seen in great numbers, and were so easily approached, that several of them were knocked over with stones. While our boat was on shore, captain Randall seat his boat to a small beach in the same bay, about a mile from where our boat landed, and in a short time she returned loaded with fine green turtle, two of which he sent us, and we found them excellent. It may be seen by captain Macy's letter, that on the east-side of the island there is another landing, which he calls Pat's landing; and this place will probably immortalize an Irishman, named Patrick Watkins, who some years since left an English ship, and took up his abode on this island, built himself a miserable hut, about a mile from the landing called after him, in a valley containing about two acres of ground capable of cultivation, and perhaps the only spot on the island which affords sufficient moisture for the purpose. Here he succeeded in raising potatoes and pumpkins in considerable quantities, which he generally exchanged for rum, or sold for cash. The appearance of this man, from the accounts I have received of him, was the most dreadful that can be imagined; ragged clothes, scarce sufficient to cover his nakedness, and covered with vermin; his red hair and beard matted, his skin much burnt, from constant exposure to the sun, and so wild and savage in his manner and appearance, that he struck every one with horror. For several years this wretched being lived by himself on this desolate spot, without any apparent desire than that of procuring rum in sufficient quantities to keep himself intoxicated, and at such times, after an absence from his hut of several days, he would be found in a state of perfect insensibility, rolling among the rocks of the mountains. He appeared to be reduced to the lowest grade to which human

nature is capable, and seemed to have no desire beyond the tortoises and other animals of the island, except that of getting drunk. But this man, wretched and miserable as he may have appeared, was neither destitute of ambition nor incapable of undertaking enterprize that would have appalled the heart of any other man; nor was he devoid of the talent of rousing others to second his hardihood.

      He by some means became possessed of an old musket, and a few charges of powder and ball; and the possession of this weapon first set into action all his ambitious plans. He felt himself strong as the sovereign of the island, and was desirous of proving his strength on the first human being who fell in his way, which happened to be a negro, who was left in charge of a boat belonging to an American ship that had touched there for refreshments. Patrick came down to the beach where the boat lay, armed with his musket, now become his constant companion, and directed the negro, in an authoritative manner, to follow him, and on his refusal snapped his musket at him twice, which luckily missed fire. The negro, however, became intimidated, and followed him. Patrick now shouldered his musket, marched off before, and on his way up the mountains exultingly informed the negro he was henceforth to work for him, and become his slave, and that his good or bad treatment would depend on his future conduct; but arriving at a narrow defile, and perceiving Patrick off his guard, the negro seized the moment, grasped him in his arms, threw him down, tied his hands behind, shouldered him, and carried him to his boat, and when the crew had arrived he was taken on board the ship. An English smuggler was lying in the harbour at the same time, the captain of which sentenced Patrick to be severely whipped on board both vessels, which was put in execution, and he was afterwards taken on shore handcuffed by the Englishmen, who compelled him to make known where he had concealed the few dollars he had been enabled to accumulate from the sale, of his potatoes and pumpkins, which they took from him; and while they were busy in destroying his hut and garden, the wretched being made his escape, and concealed himself among the rocks in the interior of the island, until the ship

had sailed, when he ventured from his sculking-place, and by means of an old file, which he drove into a tree, freed himself from the handcuffs. He now meditated a severe revenge, but concealed his intentions. Vessels continued to touch there, and Patrick, as usual, to furnish them with vegetables; but from time to time he was enabled, by administering potent draughts of his darling liquor to some of the men of their crews, and getting them so drunk that they were rendered insensible, to conceal them until the ship had sailed; when, finding themselves entirely dependent on him, they willingly enlisted under his banners, became his slaves, and he the most absolute of tyrants. By this means he had augmented the number to five, including himself, and every means was used by him to endeavour to procure arms for them, but without effect. It is supposed that his object was to have surprised some vessel, massacred her crew, and taken her off. While Patrick was meditating his plans, two ships, an American and an English vessel, touched there, and applied to Patrick for vegetables. He promised them the greatest abundance, provided they would send their boats to his landing, and their people to bring them from his garden, informing them that his rascals had become so indolent of late, that he could not get them to work. This arrangement was agreed to; two boats were sent from each vessel, and hauled on the beach. Their crews all went to Patrick's habitation, but neither he nor any of his people were to be found; and, after waiting until their patience was exhausted, they returned to the beach, where they found only the wreck of three of their boats, which were broken to pieces, and the fourth one, missing. They succeeded, however, after much difficulty, in getting around to the bay opposite to their ships, where other boats were sent to their relief; and the commanders of the ships, apprehensive of some other trick, saw no security except in a flight from the island, leaving Patrick and his gang in quiet possession of the boat; but before they sailed they put a letter in a keg, giving intelligence of the affair, and moored it in the bay, where it was found by captain Randall, but not until he had sent his boat to Patrick's landing, for the purpose of procuring refreshments; and, as may be easily supposed, he felt no

little inquietude until her return, when she brought him a letter from Patrick to the following purport, which was found in his hut

SIR,

      I have made repeated applications to captains of vessels to sell me a boat, or to take me from this place, but in every instance met with a refusal. An opportunity presented itself to possess myself of one, and I took advantage of it. I have been a long time endeavouring, by hard labour and suffering, to accumulate wherewith to make myself comfortable, but at different times have been robbed and maltreated, and in a late instance by captain Paddock, whose conduct in punishing me, and robbing me of about 500 dollars, in cash and other articles, neither agrees with the principles he professes nor is it such as his sleek coat would lead one to expect^*.

      On the 29th May, 1809, I sail from the enchanted island in the Black Prince, bound to the Marquesas.

      Do not kill the old hen; she is now sitting, and will soon have chickens

may naturally lead us to a consideration of the question concerning the population of the other islands scattered about the Pacific ocean, respecting which so many conjectures have been hazarded. I shall only hazard one, which is briefly this: that former ages may have produced men equally as bold and as daring as Pat, and women as willing as his tender one to accompany them in their adventurous voyages. And when we consider the issue which might be produced from an union between a red-haired wild Irishman, and a copper-coloured mixt-blooded squaw, we need not be any longer surprized at the different varieties in human nature.

      If Patrick should be liberated from durance, and should arrive with his love at this enchanting spot, perhaps (when neither Pat nor the Gallapagos are any longer remembered) some future navigator may surprize the world by a discovery of them, and his accounts of the strange people with which they may probably be inhabited; and from the source from which they shall have sprung, it does not seem unlikely that they will have one trait in their character, which is common to the natives of all the islands in the Pacific, a disposition to appropriate to themselves the property of others; and from this circumstance future speculators may confound their origin with that of all the rest.

      We were little prepared to meet our second disappointment, in not finding vessels at Charles' island, but consoled ourselves with the reflection, that we should now soon arrive at Albemarle, and that in Banks' Bay, the general rendezvous, we should find an ample reward for all our loss of time, sufferings, and disappointments; and as we had a fine breeze from the east, I made all sail, steering west from Charles' island, to make the south head of the island of Albemarle, which was distant from us about 45 miles, and in the morning found ourselves nearly up with it. When we had arrived within eight or nine miles of a point, which I have named Point Essex, projecting to the S.W., and lying between Point Christopher and Cape Rose, the wind died away, and I took my boat and proceeded for the aforesaid point, where I arrived in about two hours after leaving the ship, and found in a small bay, behind some rocks which terminate the

point, very good landing, where we went on shore, and, to out great surprize, and no little alarm, on entering the bushes, found myriads of guanas, of an enormous size and the most hideous appearance imaginable; the rocks forming the cove were also covered with them, and, from their taking to the water very readily, we were induced to believe them a distinct species from those found among the keys of the West Indies. In some spots a half acre of ground would be so completely covered with them, as to appear as though it was impossible for another to get in the space; they would all keep their eyes fixed constantly on us, and we at first supposed them prepared to attack us. We soon however discovered them to be the most timid of animals, and in a few moments knocked down hundreds of them with our clubs, some of which we brought on board, and found to be excellent eating, and many preferred them greatly to the turtle.

      We found on the beach a few seals, and one fine large green turtle; but as the boat was small, and the distance to row very great, I concluded on leaving it, as I did not wish to incumber her with its weight. Several of the seals were killed by our men, and proved of that kind which do not produce the fur. Nothing can be more sluggish or more inactive than this animal while on the sand; it appears incapable of making any exertions whatever to escape those in pursuit of it, and quietly waits the blow which terminates its existence. A small blow on the nose will kill them in an instant, but when they are in the water, or even on the rocks, nothing can exceed their activity: they seem then to be a different animal altogether; shy, cunning, and very alert in pursuit of their prey, and in avoiding pursuit, they are then very difficult to take. We also found a number of birds called shags, which did not appear alarmed in the slightest degree at cur approach, and numbers of them were knocked down by our people with clubs, and taken on board; these, with the exception of some other aquatic birds, and some large lizards with red heads, and a species of crab, were the only animals we found on this spot. After trying in vain to catch some fish, we left the cove, and proceeded along the shore to the northward, with the expectation of finding another landing-place, but were much disappointed; for,

after rowing as far as Point Christopher, a distance of 15 miles, we found the shore every where bound with craggy rocks, against which the sea broke with inconceivable violence. The rocks were every where covered with seals, penguins, guanas, and pelicans, and the sea filled with green turtle, which might have been taken with the greatest ease, had we been enabled to have taken them into our boat; for we sometimes rowed, right against them, without their making an exertion to get out of our way. Multitudes of enormous sharks were swimming about us, and from time to time caused us no little uneasiness, from the ferocious manner in which they came at the boat and snapped at our oars; for she was of the lightest construction, with remarkably thin plank, and a gripe from one of those would have torn them from her timbers; but we guarded as much as lay in our power against the evil, by thrusting boarding pikes into them as they came up to us.

      As we proceeded along shore, and when we had arrived at a black gravelly beach, within about five miles of Point Christopher, we saw the shore covered with the wreck of some vessel, which, from the number of pieces, apparently staves, among them, I am induced to believe was that of a whaler; but as the surf beat so high, that we could not land without risking the safety of the boat, we were unable to determine whether her construction was American or British. From the appearance of the wreck, I should suppose she had not been lost more than two or three years; we could not, however, form any correct opinion on the subject, as the whole wreck consisted of a multitude of fragments, no part of the body of the vessel standing. She appears to have gone entirely to pieces, and some of her copper, &c. has been thrown a great distance among the rocks, by the violence of the sea.

      The water is very bold all along this coast, and the largest ship may sail within a stone's throw of it, without the least risk of touching the bottom; but yet it is not safe to approach too near the shore, as calms are very frequent here, the currents violent and irregular, and a heavy swell constantly heaving on shore; and it would be almost impossible to bring a vessel up by her anchors, before she would strike against the sides of the rocks

which skirt the shore, on account of the extreme depth of the water.

      Where we landed, the shore was moderately low, the soil apparently rich and moist, and the vegetation luxuriant, many of the trees being 30 feet in height, the underwood very thick, and pushing forth vigorously, and the grass as high as a man's middle. The rain appeared to be falling in torrents on the high lands, but we could see nothing that indicated the neighbourhood of a stream of water From the landing to Point Christopher, the shores are bounded by precipices of several hundred feet in height, which are as regularly formed of strata of stones and earth, as if they had been laid by the most expert mason. The strata of stones and earth are each about two feet in thickness, and from the base to the summit of the precipice are laid with surprising regularity, in lines perfectly straight and parallel.

      Perceiving a breeze springing up, I hastened on board (for I had objects in view of more importance than examining the rocky coast of this dreary place, or catching guanas and seals), where, on my arrival, I caused all sail to be made, and shaped my course for Narborough Island, which now began to shew itself open with Point Christopher, and in its appearance bears some resemblance to a turtle's back. I was in hopes that the breeze would carry us clear of the northern point of that island before day-light, in order that we might have the whole of the next day for securing our prizes in Banks' Bay, which lies between Narborough and the south head of Albemarle, Cape Berkley; for the island of Albemarle is formed something like a crescent, the convex side lying to the west; and Narborough Island, which is nearly round, lies in the bend, forming Banks' Bay on the north and Elizabeth Bay on the south, leaving a safe passage inside from one bay to the other. To Banks' Bay the fishermen resort every year, between March and July, to take the whale, which come in there in great numbers at that season, in pursuit of the squid or cuttle fish, which are brought into the eddy formed there by the rapid currents which prevail. In this bay vessels ate enabled to keep their stations, notwithstanding the currents and calms which prevail, and frequently lie for months be-

tween what is called the Turtle's Nose of Narborough and the North Head, without once being swept out; but should it so happen that they are drifted out beyond the projecting points, and fall into the northern currents, they are sometimes a month, and even more, before they can recover their stations; and it sometimes happens that the whole fleet, which generally consists of 15 or 20 sail, are driven as far north as the latitude of 2°, and are unable to return until the current changes. A knowledge of this now caused great uneasiness in my mind. I had formed the most sanguine expectations of meeting with great success here, and every thing seemed to justify them, but still I could not resist those anxious feelings, which cannot be repelled at such moments. We had all along calculated on reaping a rich harvest from the enemy at the Gallapagos Islands; it was the constant subject of our conversation and solicitude, and every scheme was adopted that could prove likely to secure to us every vessel in the bay, and we did not calculate on a number less than 10 or 12; indeed we calculated on making more prizes there than we could man, and hoped to be thus indemnified for all loss of time, fatigues, and anxieties. For my own part, I felt the utmost desire to know the result of our visit to the Gallapagos, and at the same time a dread of a disappointment, which, although possible, I did not believe probable; however, the anxiety to know as soon as possible our success or disappointment, induced me to dispatch lieut. Downes to take a look around the point of Narborough, and reconnoitre the bay; for the ships had been swept by the current, during the night, into Elizabeth Bay; and, as the wind was very light, we made very little head way; but in the course of the day, it sprung up a breeze from the southward, with which we endeavoured to beat around Narborough against a strong current; but toward night it died away, and in a few hours we lost as much ground as we had gained through the day.

      At 1 o'clock in the morning, lieut. Downes returned to the ship, which he was enabled to find by means of flashes made from time to time by us, and reported that he did not arrive at the north point of Narborough or Turtle's Nose, until near sundown, and that he could perceive no vessels in the bay; but observed, at

the same time, that the weather was hazy, and as the bay is about 35 miles from side to side, and about the same depth, it was possible for vessels to have been there without his being able to observe them. We did not wish to believe that the bay was destitute of vessels; and while there was room to build a hope of meeting the enemy, we kept our spirits up with the expectation of finding them, either in the bay, or at anchor in a cove called the Bason, on the Albemarle side of the passage between Elizabeth and Banks' Bay, where the whalers frequently go to refit and wood, and get tortoises, and where, at times, a small quantity of fresh water may be obtained, but never more than 60 gallons per day, and seldom so large a quantity, and this only after heavy rains. Lieut. Downes brought with him several turtle of a very large size, and different in their appearance either from the green, hawks-bill, loggerhead, or trunk turtle; they were shaped much like the green turtle, but were of a black, disagreeable appearance and smell; and as I was apprehensive they might produce some unpleasant consequences should they be eaten by the crew, I directed them to be thrown overboard, though many contended that they were as good and as innocent as any others.

      The winds continued light and a-head, and the current strong against us, and it was not till the afternoon of the 23d that we were enabled to weather Narborough; but during this interval every person was anxiously looking out day and night, with the momentary expectation of seeing vessels; and so fully was I of the belief that I should fall in with a force that would offer some resistance, that I considered it most prudent to clear away the guns every night, lAnd keep the hammocks stowed in the nettings, so as to be prepared for any force that might be assembled. On doubling the point of Narborough, our yards were completely manned by seamen and officers, whose anxiety had taken them aloft, all examining strictly every part of the bay, but could discover no vessels; at length the cry of sail ho! and shortly afterwards another, seemed to electrify every man on board, and it seemed now as if all our hopes and expectations were to be realized; but in a few minutes those illusory prospects vanished, and as sudden dejection, proceeding from disappointment, took place; for

the supposed sails proved to be only white appearances on the shore. Still, however, we did not despair; we had not yet examined the bason; perhaps it might contain some vessels; and, as we were now only about five miles from it, lieut. Downes was dispatched to reconnoitre, as well as to see if it was a suitable situation for us to refit the ship in, and fill up our wood, and ascertain what quantity of water could there be obtained. He did not get in until after sundown, and returned to the ship at 1 o'clock in the morning; and, to complete our disappointment, reported that he had seen no vessels. The account he gave of the bason was such as to induce me to believe it would be a secure harbour for the ship, as he made a favourable report of the depth of water and anchorage; but as it was night, he could form but an imperfect notion of the form of the harbour, nor could he give me any account of the watering-place, as he was not able to find it. He was equally uninformed whether we should there be enabled to get wood; I therefore, to remove all doubts in my own mind, determined to visit it myself; and, as the moon was now rising, directed my boat to be prepared, and started from the ship, arriving at the bason at sunrise, which I found every thing that could be desired to afford perfect security for a ship of the largest size: The art of man could not have formed a more beautiful bason, which is at the entrance about three cables' length over, and gradually enlarges to five cables' length, terminating in a round bottom. The whole is surrounded by high cliffs, except at the very bottom, where is the only landing for boats, at a small ravine, having three fathoms water along side of the rocks, which, from every side to the middle, gradually deepens to twelve fathoms, and has every where a clear, dark, sandy bottom, free from rocks and every other danger. Vessels should moor here head and stern, and when bound in should keep mid-channel, and choose their distance from the shore and depth of water; but as they may be liable to be deceived, from the great height of the hills, it would be advisable to send in a boat to anchor a buoy at the spot where the ship should let go her anchor. We saw here an abundance of fish and green turtle, and on landing found both the sea and land guanas, lizards, a small gray snake, and a considerable variety

of birds; also trees of a considerable size, which would afford wood for shipping, and among them a species from which oozed a resinous substance, in very large quantities, dripping from the trunk and every limb. This tree produces a fruit nearly as large as a cherry; but it was then green, and had a very aromatic smell and taste. From the bason we proceeded to the south, in search of the watering-place, and after rowing close along a rocky shore, about two miles, without discovering it, concluded to return, and land in every place where there was the least probability of finding it, although I was satisfied in my own mind, that, had one existed, it would have been impracticable to water at it, in consequence of the violence of the surf, which beats with such force against the rocks as to endanger the safety of the boat, although the sea appeared unusually calm. On our return we perceived a little moisture on a flat rock about half a mile from the mouth of the bason, and with much difficulty I succeeded in landing, which I found to be the watering-place we were in search of. In this rock I found four holes, each about 14 inches square, and from 6 to 7 deep, which had apparently been cut by some person with a pick-axe, for the purpose of catching the water as it dripped from the rocks above. At this time they contained only a little stinking water, as salt as brine, which had been thrown in by the sea. I caused them to be cleared out, but could not perceive, during the hour that I remained there, that any water whatever flowed into them, and I am persuaded that no water can ever be found there, except after heavy rains, and then only in small quantities, for the whole island is a light and thirsty soil, composed entirely of volcanic matter, and probably owes its origin to no distant period, for the volcanic cinders and other appearances lying on every part of the surface, as well as the innumerable craters, and hills composed of ashes and lava, all apparently fresh, and in most parts destitute of verdure, sufficiently prove that they have not long been thrown from the bowels of the ocean. These thirsty mountains, like a sponge, soak from the passing clouds the moisture which serves to keep alive the scanty vegetation scattered over their sides; but they permit none of it to escape in springs or streams of water, for the support of animal

life. On the side of a rock at this watering-place, we found the names of several English and American ships cut, whose crews had been there; and but a short distance from thence was erected a hut, built of loose stones, but destitute of a roof; and in the neighbourhood of it were scattered in considerable quantities the bones and shells of land and sea tortoises. This I afterwards understood was the work of a wretched English sailor, who had been landed there by his captain, destitute of every thing, for having used some insulting language to him. Here he existed near a year on land tortoises and guanas, and his sole dependence for water was on the precarious supply he could get from the drippings of the rocks; at length, finding that no one was likely to come to take him from thence, and fearful of perishing for the want of water, he formed a determination to attempt at all hazards getting into Banks' Bay, where the ships cruize for whales, and with this view provided himself with two seal skins, with which, blown up, he formed a float; and, after hazarding destruction from the sharks, which frequently attacked his vessel, and which he kept off with the stick that served him as a paddle, he succeeded at length in getting along side an American ship early in the morning, where his unexpected arrival not only surprized but alarmed the crew; for his appearance was scarcely human; clothed in the skins of seals, his countenance haggard, thin, and emaciated, his beard and hair long and matted, they supposed him a being from another world. The commander of the vessel where he arrived felt a great sympathy for his sufferings, and determined for the moment to bring to punishment the villain who had, by thus cruelly exposing the life of a fellow-being, violated every principle of humanity; but from some cause or other he was prevented from carrying into effect his laudable intentions, and to this day the poor sailor has not had justice done him.

      At the landing-place at the head of the bason, we found a bag, which, from its appearance, had been there but a very short time; also a fresh turtle shell and bones, as well as those of fish, and fresh ashes, where a fire had been kindled. From these traces we knew that some persons had been there but a short time before us; and in searching about, we found the leaf of an

English political pamphlet, from which we were led to suppose they had been English. We were in hopes of finding also a bottle containing letters, as it is a frequent practice for vessels engaged in the whale trade to leave them at their stopping-places; but, after the most diligent search, we were unable to find any. In the neighbourhood of this place we killed an enormous sea-lion, and several seals, and in the course of half an hour caught as many fish as the boat could conveniently carry and in the same time every boat belonging to the ship, had they been properly provided with hooks and lines, might have been loaded. There were a great variety, and all proved to be of an excellent quality. The sharks proved troublesome to us in taking away hooks, and sometimes snatching the fish from the lines; but on the whole we were well compensated for the time we spent, and the few hooks we lost, by the excellent repast they afforded.

      Proceeding along shore to the northward of the bason, on a small sandy beach, among some rocks, we saw a number of turtle, which we turned on their backs; and a short distance further to the north, in a small and shallow cove near some mangrove trees, we found a great many more, and succeeded in turning upwards of 30 of them, all of that species called the green turtle, and most of them upwards of 300 weight. At both these places I caused large fires to be made, and on my return to the ship, where I did not arrive until dark, I dispatched two boats to bring them off; the fires guided them to the spot; but on their arrival on board next morning they brought with them only ten, as a sudden rise of the tide (a circumstance we had not sufficiently guarded against) had enabled the rest to make their escape, and even of those that were brought alongside, one of the largest among them was lost overboard in getting it on board. We however had enough remaining to give two or three fresh messes to all hands.

      As the Barclay had not been enabled to get into the bay, in consequence of the violence of the current, and as we had lost sight of her, I concluded it best to run out and see what had become of her; and at 12 o'clock discovered her standing in for

the bay, under a press of canvas, with a fresh breeze from the westward, while we had it from the eastward. I had not yet made up my mind whether to remain in the bay a few days to await the arrival of vessels there, or to look around among the other islands for them. One great object with me now was to find a convenient place for watering my ship; none such was to be found at Albemarle, and I had but little hopes of being able to find any at the other islands; but as I had understood that some fresh water was to be had at times at James' Island, which lies at a short distance from Albemarle, I believed it would be advisable to proceed to that place, which is said to be much frequented by English whalers and smugglers, who resort there for wood and land tortoises; and considering the time I had been from the United States, during which period many of my crew had not been on shore, I considered it necessary, on account of their health, to take them where they could have an opportunity of getting on shore among the trees, the odour arising from which is said to be the most powerful antiscorbutic known. I determined, however, before I adopted any plan for future operations, to obtain from captain Randall his opinion respecting the cause of this unexpected absence of British ships from Banks' Bay, for I could not imagine any reason for it but one, which was, that they had, on the first news of war, captured all the American vessels they had found in the bay, and gone ofT with them; and yet it appeared to me extraordinary that none others should have arrived since, particularly as some had sailed at a late period from Lima for that station. But while the Barclay was running into the bay, I stood over for the north-head of Albemarle; and as I had no doubt, from what I had already seen, that every part of the bay abounded with fish, I sent three boats to endeavour to catch some, and shortly afterwards followed them myself. We proceeded to the foot of a remarkably black precipice, of a great height, evidently the half of a crater, which has been rent asunder by some violent convulsion of nature, or has been undermined by the slow but constant operation of the currents, and has gradually crumbled into the ocean; this, with a point or peninsula that projects to the southward, forms a bay, which may

probably afford shelter and anchorage for vessels; but having but a short time to spare, we devoted it entirely to the object for which we came, and in less than half an hour we loaded all our boats with as many fish as they could carry, and returned to the ship. On the east side of the point before mentioned, is a remarkable cavern, formed by the beating of the sea, which has caused the rock to fall in, until it has formed what the French call a trombe dans l'angle, and excavated nearly the whole point or peninsula, leaving merely a support for the arch. Under this place we caught our fish, and all the boats of the ship might have been loaded in the same time. The moment the hook was in the water, hundreds of them were seen rushing towards it, and many of them of a size which made it very difficult to haul in with our largest lines. They were chiefly the black, yellow, and red grouper, and a fish greatly resembling the sheeps-head, all of an excellent quality; and so abundant were they, that they were frequently caught with the boat hooks while swimming about the boats. They afforded not only a pleasant amusement to those who caught them, but a plentiful repast to the crew of the Essex, as well as to that of the Barclay; and our supply was so much greater than we wanted for immediate consumption, that after salting many of them, large quantities were thrown overboard, to keep them from spoiling on our hands. We also caught one of that description of black turtle formerly mentioned; and as many were desirous of tasting its qualities, it was brought on board, and found to be superior to any we had yet tasted; after supplying my own table and that of the officers of the ward-room, it furnished an abundant meal to six messes of the ship's company, consisting of 48 men. We here also caught a number of shags and penguins, and killed some pelicans and other aquatic birds.

      In the morning I stood out of the bay with the land breeze, which, since we have been here, has constantly sprung up at sunrise, and continued to blow until about 10 o'clock, when, after a calm of an hour or two, the sea breeze has set in from the westward, which continued until sundown; the rest of the 24 hours has been perfectly calm. I made the signal to speak the Barclay; and, on capt. Randall's coming on board, he assured me that the

English whalers were somewhere to the north, where they had been unavoidably swept by the current; but this I could hardly credit, when we had found such difficulty in getting into the bay from the southward; but he assured me, that, notwithstanding the southerly current we had to contend with to the south of the bay, I should find it to the north running equally strong northerly and, strange as it may appear, I found it absolutely the case, for in standing a little more out of the bay, and to the north of North Head, or Cape Berkley, we experienced a current setting northerly, which carried us with great rapidity. As we approached Point Albemarle (which is the northernmost extremity of the island of that name, and off which lies a reef of rocks, extending about two miles), the weather became hazy; and while searching around the horizon with my perspective, I was at length cheered with the sight of what I believed to be a sail: numbers of others on board were under the same illusion; all hands were called to make sail; and in a few minutes another was discovered. We now began to believe that fortune had become tired of trying our patience, and began already to make some estimation of their probable value, and form some plan of disposing of them; but to our mortification the illusion soon vanished, and it appeared we had been cheated by two sand banks, whose appearance had been so strangely altered by the intervention of the fog, as to assume precisely the appearance of ships under their top-gallant sails. The spirits of the crew had been highly excited by the prospect of making prizes, and the disappointment had occasioned no trifling degree of dejection and despondency among them; but they did not murmur; they were sensible that, if we were not successful, we had not ourselves to accuse, as we had not avoided the enemy by remaining in port; nor had we been neglectful in our search for him. There were few on board the ship who did not now despair of making any captures about the Gallapagos Islands; and I believe that many began to think that the information we had received respecting the practice of British vessels frequenting those islands, as well as the flattering expectations which this information had given rise to, had been altogether deception; but I could not so lightly lay down my opinions, which

had caused me to visit those islands, and which had been formed on information that could not be doubted; and I determined not to leave the Gallapagos so long as there remained a hope of finding a British vessel among them. The current continued to carry us with great rapidity to the north-west, and light and baffling winds, but more frequently calms, only served to increase our impatience, and dampen all our hope of recovering our lost ground; for we had, by the 28th April, been drifted as far to the north as 1° 8', notwithstanding every exertion we could make to get to the southward, by keeping on the most advantageous tacks. Our wood and our water, two articles of the highest importance to us, began to grow short, and there scarcely remained a hope of finding any of the latter article at any of the islands, unless it could be had at James'; and of this I had my doubts, although it has been asserted by some, that it furnishes it in considerable quantities. I however determined to visit it, not with an expectation of procuring water, but with a hope of finding there some English vessels, as I thought it not improbable that they might have put in there to take on board wood and tortoises, and were waiting for a change of current to enable them to reach Banks' Bay. Under every circumstance, I considered it advisable to endeavour to reach James' Island, and should I prove unsuccessful there, determined to extend my search among the groupe; for I could not be persuaded that they were entirely abandoned by the whalers.

      At day-light on the morning of the 29th, I was roused from my cot, where I passed a sleepless and anxious night, by the cry of "sail ho!" "sail ho!" was re-echoed through the ship, and in a moment all hands were on deck. The strange sail proved to be a large ship, beating west, to which we gave chase; and in an hour afterwards we discovered two others, bearing south-west, equally large in their appearance. I had no doubts of their being British whale-ships; and as I was certain that toward mid-day, as usual, it would fall calm, I felt confident we should succeed in taking the whole of them. I continued my pursuit of the first discovered vessel, and at 9 o'clock spoke her under British colours. She proved to be the British whale-ship Montezuma,

captain Baxter, with 1400 bbls. of sperm oil on board. I invited the captain on board; and while he was in my cabin, giving me such information as was in his power respecting the other whale-ships about the Gallapagos, I took his crew on board the Essex, put an officer and crew on board the Montezuma, and continued in pursuit of the other vessels, which made all exertions to get from us. At 11 A. M., according to my expectation, it fell calm; we were then at the distance of eight miles from them. I had reason, from the information obtained, to believe them to be the British armed whale-ships Georgiana, of six eighteen-pounders, and the Policy, of ten six-pounders, the one having on board 35 and the other 26 men; but that they were British ships there could not be a doubt, and we were determined to have them at all hazards. Thick and hazy weather is prevalent here, and, as there was every indication of it, I was fearful that, in the event of a breeze, one or the other of them might make its escape from us, as I had understood that they were reputed fast sailers; I therefore thought it advisable to attempt them in our boats, and with this view had them prepared for the purpose, and in few minutes they departed in two divisions: lieutenant Downes, in the whale-boat, commanded the first division, consisting of the 3d cutter, lieutenant M'Knight, jolly boat, sailing-master Cowell, and 2d cutter, midshipman Isaacs; and lieutenant Wilmer, in the pinnace, commanding the second division, consisting of the 1st cutter, lieutenant Wilson, and gig, lieutenant Gamble of the marines. The heavy-rowing boats occasioned considerable delay to the whole, as I had given the most positive orders that the boats should be brought into action altogether, and that no officer should take advantage of the fleetness of his boat to proceed a-head of the rest, believing that some of the officers, from their extreme anxiety to join with the enemy might be so imprudent as to do so. At 2 o'clock, the boats were about a mile from the vessels (which were about a quarter of a mile apart), when they hoisted English colours, and fired several guns. The boats how formed in one division, and pulled for tho largest ship, which, as they approached, kept her guns trained on them. The signal was made for boarding; and, when lieutenant Downes arrived within a few

yards of her gangway, and directed them to surrender, the colours were hauled down. They now proceeded for the other vessel, after leaving an officer and some men on board, and as soon she was hailed she followed the example of the first, by striking her colours. Shortly afterwards a breeze sprung up; the prizes bore down for us, and we welcomed the safe return of our shipmates with three hearty cheers. The captured vessels proved to be, as I had expected, the Georgiana, captain Pitts, of 280 tons, and the Policy, of 275 tons; and these three vessels, which we had taken with so little trouble, were estimated to be worth in England upwards of half a million of dollars. The ease with which the last vessels were taken by our open boats, gave us but a poor opinion of British valour; and the satisfaction which the possession of these valuable vessels gave us, made us forget for a moment the hardships of Cape Horn, and the time we had spent without seeing an enemy; and it also afforded us a useful lesson, as it convinced us we ought not to despair of success under any circumstances, however unfortunate they may appear; and that, although the patient and persevering may for a time meet with disappointments, fortune will at length most commonly enable them to rise superior to every adversity. Slight murmurings had on one or two occasions been heard from some of the crew, occasioned by our want of success heretofore, and with a view of preventing it in future, I considered it advisable to inculcate this, maxim by the following note;

SAILORS AND MARINES,

      Fortune has at length smiled on us, because we deserved her smiles, and the first time she enabled us to display free trade and sailors' rights, assisted by your good conduct, she put in our possession near half a million of the enemy's property.

      Continue to be zealous, enterprizing, and patient, and we will yet render the name of the Essex as terrible to the enemy as that of any other vessel, before we return to the United States. My plans shall be made known to you at a suitable period.

      The possession of these vessels, besides the great satisfaction it produced, was attended by another advantage of no less importance, as it relieved all our wants except one, to wit, the want of water. From them we obtained an abundant supply of cordage, canvas, paints, tar, and every other article necessary for the ship, of all of which she stood in great need, as our slender stock brought from America had now become worn out and useless; and besides the articles necessary for the ship, we became supplied with a stock of provisions, of a quality and quantity that removed all apprehensions of our suffering for the want of them for many months, as those vessels, when they sailed from England, were provided with provisions and stores for upwards of three years, and had not yet consumed half their stock; all were of the best quality; and, were it only for the supplying our immediate wants, the prizes were of the greatest importance to us. We found on board of them, also, wherewith to furnish our crew with several delicious meals. They had been in at James' Island, and had supplied themselves abundantly with those extraordinary animals the tortoises of the Gallapagos, which properly deserve the name of the elephant tortoise. Many of them were of a size to weigh upwards of three hundred weight; and nothing, perhaps, can be more disagreeable or clumsy than they are in their external appearance. Their motion resembles strongly that of the elephant; their steps slow, regular, and heavy; they carry their body about a foot from -the ground, and their legs and feet bear no slight resemblance to the animal to which I have likened them; their neck is from 18 inches to 2 feet in length, and very slender; their head is proportioned to it, and strongly resembles that of a serpent; but, hideous and disgusting as is their appearance, no animal can possibly afford a more wholesome, luscious, and delicate food than they do; the finest green turtle is no more to be compared to them, in point of excellence, than the coarsest beef is to the finest veal; and after once tasting the Gallapagos tortoises, every other animal food fell greatly in our estimation. These animals are so fat as to require neither butter nor lard to cook them, and this fat does not possess that cloying quality, common to that of most other animals; and when tried out, it fur-

nishes an oil superior in taste to that of the olive. The meat of this animal is the easiest of digestion, and a quantity of it, exceeding that of any other food, can be eaten, without experiencing the slightest inconvenience. But what seems the most extraordinary in this animal, is the length of time that it can exist without food; for I have been well assured, that they have been piled away among the casks in the hold of a ship, where they have been kept eighteen months, and, when killed at the expiration of that time, were found to have suffered no diminution in fatness or excellence. They carry with them a constant supply of water, in a bag at the root of the neck, which contains about two gallons; and on tasting that found in those we killed on board, it proved perfectly fresh and sweet. They are very restless when exposed to the light and heat of the sun, but will lie in the dark from one year's end to the other without moving; in the day-time, they appear remarkably quick-sighted and timid, drawing their head into their shell on the slightest motion of any object; but they are entirely destitute of hearing, as the loudest noise, even the firing of a gun, does not seem to alarm them in the slightest degree, and at night, or in the dark, they appear perfectly blind. After our tasting the flesh of those animals, we regretted that numbers of them had been thrown overboard by the crews of the vessels before their capture, to clear them for action; but a few days afterwards, at day-light in the morning, we were so fortunate as to find ourselves surrounded by about fifty of them, which were picked up and brought on board, as they had been lying in the same place where they had been thrown over, incapable of any exertion in that element, except that of stretching out their long necks.

      I had merely placed a temporary crew on board the prizes, but took the first opportunity to make them permanent, putting midshipman Odenheimer in charge of the Montezuma, and midshipman Cowan of the Policy, giving them the necessary directions for clearing their decks of the lumber of oil casks and other articles, to bend all their light sails, and reave their running rigging, which had all been unbent and unrove, as unnecessary while fishing, and to preserve them from injury; I also furnished them

with the necessary signals, and appointed the island of Plata, and the bay of Tumbez, as rendezvous in case of separation, directing them to use the utmost economy in the expenditure of their provisions, stores, and water, ordering all hands to be put on the same allowance as the crew of the Essex.

      On examining the Georgiana, I found her not only a noble ship, hut well calculated for a cruizer, as she sailed well, and had been built for the service of the British East India Company, and had been employed as a packet until this voyage. I therefore determined to equip and arm her completely, aid mounted on her the ten guns of the Policy, making her whole number now sixteen, to which were added two swivels, and a number of heavy blunderbusses mounted on swivels, as well as all the muskets, pistols, cutlasses, and other military equipments we could find on board the other vessels; by these means rendering her as formidable, in point of armament, as any of the British letters of marque I could hear of in this ocean; but this I did not undertake until I was well satisfied she could be well manned, without reducing too much my own crew. A number of seamen captured in the prizes had already proffered their services to us; and on inquiry I found many of them to be Americans. They volunteered their services in equipping the Georgiana, and freeing her from much of the lumber on board, consisting of empty casks and other cumbrous articles, which were sent on board the other prizes; and the heavy brick-work and large iron boilers used for trying out the oil, were taken down, to give more room on her decks, and relieve her from the great weight, which was found greatly to improve her sailing. The command of this vessel, now completely equipped for war, I gave to lieut. Downes, with a crew consisting of 36 of our old crew, and 5 of the men who had entered from prizes, making her number altogther [sic] 41 men; the remainder I kept on board the Essex, whose crew now amounted to 264 men, including officers and those on board the Barclay. I appointed midshipman Haddaway as acting lieutenant on board the Georgiana, and sent Mr. Miller (my former gunner) there to do duty, as well as Kingsbury as boatswain. and two quarter-masters. The equipping and manning of this vessel also

enabled me to make some promotions on board my own ship from some of the most deserving of my crew, to fill up the vacancies occasioned by the petty officers sent on board her; and we now considered the sloop of war Georgiana, as she was styled, no trifling augmentation to our own force; but, taken in another view, she was of the utmost importance to our safety; for in the event of any accident happening to the Essex, a circumstance to which she was every moment liable, while cruizing in a sea with which we were little acquainted, we could calculate on relief from the Georgiana; added to which, she doubled the chance of annoying the enemy, and might serve as an excellent decoy, as we were particularly careful not to change in the slightest degree her appearance as a whaler. On the 8th, she hoisted the American ensign and pendant, and saluted the Essex with 17 guns, which was returned by our crew with three cheers.

      The light baffling winds and strong westerly currents prevented me now front laying any plans for my future operations; my whole attention was turned to getting up to the islands again, as I had intelligence of several other British vessels being in the neighbourhood and expected there, and among others the Perseverance, the Rose, and the New Zealand, three fine vessels, with nearly full cargoes. I felt anxious to get into port to recruit my stock of water and wood, the only articles we now stood in want of, as was the case with my prizes, which were all short of water; but still was desirous of looking once more into Banks' Bay, where I confidently expected, on a change of current, to make as many prizes as I could conveniently man.

      The weather being remarkably pleasant, I took advantage of it to put our rigging in order, by overhauling and tarring it, and painting the ship inside; and as we had been enabled to procure an abundance of small spars, planks, timber, and nails, I set the carpenters to work, making many repairs which we had not heretofore been enabled to do for the want of the necessary materials; for although we had had it in our power to supply ourselves at Valparaiso. I did not procure them there, confidently believing that the enemy would, in due time, furnish us with what we wanted

      Doctor Miller, about this time, became dissatisfied with his new situation on board the Barclay, and expressed a desire to remove to the Policy, where the accommodations, he had understood, were equal to those of the Barclay. To this wish I assented as the captain of the Policy was in very low health, I had been induced to let him remain on board his ship; and as he was a man of considerable loquacity, and some intelligence, I believed that the doctor would find himself agreeably situated, if it were possible to make him so, as to comfort and society

      On the 9th May, we were, by lunar observation, in the longitude of 89° 12' W.; and on the meridian of the same day in lat. 1° 18' 27" N. I found we were daily losing ground by the violence of the N.W. currents, and believed we should make more head-way by taking the dullest sailer, the Montezuma, in tow; but after after [sic] getting a hawser fast to her, we found that the best sailers, with all the canvas they could spread, could not keep way with us, and we were frequently obliged to shorten sail for them to come up.

      As the weather was yet fine, I continued putting the ship in a good state for service; and on examining the breechings of the guns, I found them entirely rotten and unserviceable. This gave me great uneasiness, for fear that I should not be enabled to remedy the evil; but, on searching among our prizes, we found suitable rope to answer the purpose.

      At 4 o'clock on the evening of the 12th, we very unexpectedly discovered land a-head, and on the weather bow; the wind continuing light and baffling during the night, we kept plying to the southward, and in our endeavours we were greatly assisted by a strong current. In the morning we were about 4 leagues distant from an island of considerable height, in the middle gradually sloping off every way to long low points, and bounded on every part (within sight) by fine long sandy beaches. The island appeared covered with verdure, and had a very agreeable and inviting appearance. I at first supposed it to be James' Island, as did all the prisoners who were acquainted with its appearance; but they all declared, that although it had some resemblance to that island, they could not recollect the sandy beaches and fine bays with which this appeared indented; and as I could not find any correspondence between the position of this and

other islands in sight, with those laid down on Colnet's chart, the only one which has been drawn of the Gallapagos, I felt myself much staggered in the belief of this being James', but thought it not unlikely that the want of correspondence might be owing to the general incorrectness of the chart, as we have found it filled with errors, none of the islands being laid down agreeable to their true position; nor are the shores of any of them correctly traced; and there are also many islands in this groupe not noticed in his chart: but it is not to be wondered that captain Colnet did not make a correct chart of the Gallapagos, as he merely sailed around the groupe, without passing through it; and had he even passed, as we have done, twice through them, strong currents and foggy weather would have tended greatly to mislead his judgment, and baffle all calculation as to distance. Having my doubts as to this being James' Island, although its great extent appeared to justify the belief, I make a signal for the Georgiana to proceed a-head, while we ran through the passage between that and a smaller island on the larboard bow, which to me had much the appearance of Barrington Island; but as all declared it to be Norfolk Island, I must acknowledge that I felt myself at loss to know what part of the cluster I had gotten into. I did not, however, believe the large island to be James'; and as a fine breeze sprang up from the northward, and a strong current set from the same quarter, I determined to give up the idea of making any further examination, with a view of getting to the southward, with the dull-sailing vessels under my care, hoping to reach Hood's Island, to get on board some tarrapins, as a refreshment for the crew. I consequently made a signal for a boat to be sent from the Georgiana, and sent to lieutenant Downes the following orders;

to the continent to take in water, probably to Tumbez, where you will proceed if you should not find me at Hood's Island, or if on your arrival you should not receive different instructions from me. From Tumbez I shall beat up the coast towards Lima; and when I shall have taken as many prizes as will render my return to port necessary, I shall proceed to Conception, previous to my going to Valparaiso, with a view of gaining intelligence of the British cruizers on the coast. Should you not fall in with me at Hood's Island, or at Tumbez, you will follow me in my route; and if you should touch at Coquimbo, enquire for letters for me, and open them, and do the same at Conception. Should you not hear of me at Conception or Valparaiso, you will endeavour to dispose of the whole or part of the cargo of the Georgiana, and will continue to make short cruizes in the neighbourhood of the place, until my arrival, increasing your crew as circumstances may render expedient and necessary, and securing your prizes under the protection of the batteries, unless you can dispose of them to advantage; and if this can be done, you will please to consult the consul-general as to the most proper person to be employed as agent, and do whatever may to you seem expedient to the good of all concerned.

      Near some conspicuous tree or object which I shall mark, not far from the landing-place at Hood's island, I shall bury a bottle containing further instructions. I shall do the same at Massafuero, should I touch there; and prior to my departure from Tumbez, if I should conclude on changing my route from thence and proceeding along the coast of Mexico, I shall intimate my intentions of so doing, by presenting the governor or principal person there with a rifle; and should you be certain of my having done this you will proceed to Quibo, and, near the watering-place marked A in the chart, I shall leave further instructions in a bottle, at the root of a marked tree. It is possible that I may leave a letter for you, directed to the commander of the Georgiana, at Tumbez. I calculate on cruizing off Cape Blanco some time before and after going into Tumbez, so that I think it highly probable that you will find me there, an event very much desired by me. It is even possible that I may stop

at the island of Plata; should it be in your way, look in there, and search the landing for marked trees, and a bottle containing a letter.

      If on your way back from Albemarle, you can conveniently touch at Charles' island, do so, and search there for letters.

      I have the honour to be, respectfully, your obedient servant,

fresh tracks of men were plainly to be seen from the beach to the post-office, where the articles were placed; and an impression was made in the sand, as though a bag had been set down, near which were some whale-line yarns, part of which had been used, no doubt, for the purpose of tying it; all of which circumstances left no doubts on our minds of their having been carried off by some whale-ship; and, on comparing the yarns with those we had got from on board our prizes, they were known to be English. I now felt great regret that I had not kept the Georgiana with me until our arrival, that I could have dispatched her direct for Albemarle in search of the stranger, as I could have no doubt of her having gone direct for that place, as this is the common touching-place for vessels bound there, both from a high southern latitude, and from Tumbez, on the continent, where they generally go for water; and I was in hopes she was from the latter place, with a good stock of that article, of which we now stood more in need than any other; and although I was almost induced to consider her as our own (for I had no doubts that lieutenant Downes would fall in with her), yet, as I was not certain that he would be enabled to join me here, I had no strong expectations of receiving any immediate advantage from the supplies she might bring, and determined to make every exertion in my power to procure, if possible, a supply from the island. I had heard of a spring in the interior, which could be approached from a beach on the west side, about 6 miles distant from the ship; to this place I proceeded next morning, taking with me two ten gallon kegs to make the experiment with, in order to estimate the quantity we could procure from there daily. We found the spring at the distance of three miles from the beach, and the water, after clearing it out, proved excellent; but it was found to be extremely laborious work getting it to the beach, as our stoutest men were exhausted after taking down one keg each; and it was found that each man could not carry any more than three kegs in twenty-four hours, owing to the distance, the badness of the roads, and the excessive heat on shore. I concluded, however, on attempting to get some water to answer our present purpose, notwithstanding the difficulties which opposed us, and

with this view returned to the ship to make the necessary arrangements, and on my way loaded my boat with some excellent fish.

      On landing at the beach leading to the spring, we found fresh embers, and a tortoise, which had not been killed apparently more than two days; and on our way to the spring we found innumerable testimonies of persons having been recently there: there was also on the beach a pair of mockasons, made of English canvas, and a tortoise shell containing about two quarts of English barley.

      This part cf the island abounds with tortoises, which frequent the springs for the sake of the water, and upwards of 30 of them were turned on their backs by us, as they came down to drink, during the short time we remained there, which was not more than an hour and a half; but we were enabled to bring down but one, and he was selected more for his antiquated appearance than for his size or supposed excellence. His weight was exactly 197 pounds, but he was far from being considered of a large size.

      As I returned from the spring, I could not help reflecting on the extraordinary scheme that I was about attempting to procure water, and was almost appalled by the obstacles which presented themselves; for, in addition to the difficulties of getting it down to the beach, it would be necessary there to put it into large casks, and from thence raft it to the ship, a distance of six miles, through a high sea, and sometimes against rapid currents; and to these evils must be added the danger and inconvenience of having one half of my crew at least separated from the ship, thus leaving not only her but our prizes exposed, in a defenceless state, to the attacks of an enemy. As water was to be procured in that part of the island, I thought it not unlikely that it might be found near the bay in which we lay; and well knowing the roving disposition of seamen, I determined to let a party go on shore to amuse themselves, confidently believing, if water was to be found within two or three miles of us, it would be discovered by them; and on their return at night I was not disappointed, for they informed me that they had found upwards of 40 or 50 bar-

rels of water lodged in the different hollows of the rocks, about a mile and a half from the shore; that the difficulties of getting to it were very great, but they did not doubt that each man would be enabled to bring down, in ten-gallon kegs, forty gallons per day. I immediately caused casks to be landed, and, by sending parties on shore daily, procured while we lay here two thousand gallons, much of it, to be sure, of a filthy appearance, having a bad taste and smell, and filled abundantly with slime and insects; but to us it was a treasure too precious to lose, and the greatest industry was used to save every drop of it, for fear that the sun, which was evaporating it rapidly, should cheat us of our prize.

      In order that no means should be left untried to procure a large supply of water, I caused two wells to be dug in the most likely places for finding it; but, after digging a considerable depth, salt water flowed in, and disappointed our hopes. I also sent on shore a wooding party, which soon procured us as large a supply of fuel as we stood in need of.

      Early in the morning of the third day of our arrival, a sail was discovered to the westward, standing in for the island. I immediately caused preparation to be made for sending the boats after her, as the wind was very light; but on her nearer approach, when she made her private signal, discovered it to be the Georgiana. Her arrival, although unexpected, gave me much pleasure; and on lieutenant Downes coming on board, he informed me, that, on doubling the S.W. part of the island which we had supposed to be James', he had discovered several other small islands, and had experienced rapid currents, which had put the safety of his ship in jeopardy, as they had swept him very near to a high rock, which lies in a passage of about two miles wide, formed by the S.W. part of the island and another smaller island. He had felt the same embarrassments as myself with respect to the island, and it was with no little difficulty that he extricated himself from the dangers of rocks and breakers, with which he was environed in this unknown navigation; but, after getting clear of them, and finding himself in the neighbourhood of Charles' Island, he had determined to look in there before going to Albe-

marle, in hopes of meeting a prize, little expecting to find me there at anchor.

      After lieutenant Downes had been with me a short time, I dispatched him to Albemarle, in pursuit of the stranger who had touched at the island before us, directing him to stop at Charles' island as soon afterwards as possible, and, should be not find me there, to search at the foot of the stake to which the letter-box is attached, where I should bury a bottle containing instructions for him.

      After the Georgiana left us, I proposed to Mr. Adams that he should take two boats and proceed to the large island, for the purpose of making an accurate survey of it, and examining the resources it would afford us. Mr. Adams (whose zeal for promoting geographical and mathematical knowledge does him great honour) grasped at the proposal with avidity, and at 4 P.M. of the same day (supplied with a week's provisions, and every necessary for the same period), he sailed on his voyage of discovery, in a whale-boat belonging to the Essex, and accompanied by midshipman Odenheimer in another belonging to the Montezuma. I directed them to be back to the ship between the fifth and sixth day from their departure, and during this interval we occupied ourselves in painting our ship's bends and upperworks, keeping parties every day on shore bringing down to the beach tortoises for the ship's company, of which they succeeded in getting on board between four and five hundred; and although the parties on this employment (which were selected every day, to give all an opportunity of going on shore) indulged themselves in the most ample manner in tortoise meat (which by them was called Gallapagos mutton), yet their relish for this food did not seem in the least abated, or their exertions to get them on board in the least relaxed, for every one appeared desirous of securing as large a stock of this provision as possible for the cruize; and although they were brought the distance of from three to four miles, through thorns and over sharp rocks, yet it was no uncommon thing for them to make three and four trips a day, each with tortoises weighing from fifty to a hundred weight. We were enabled to procure here also, in large quantities, an herb in taste

much resembling spinage, and so called by our people; likewise various other pot-herbs, and prickly pears in great abundance, which were not only of an excellent flavour, but a sovereign anti-scorbutic; and it afforded me much pleasure to observe that they were much relished by our people,

      The cotton plant was found growing spontaneously, and a tree of a very aromatic flavour and taste, and indeed was no other than the one formerly mentioned, found on the island of Albemarle, and producing in large quantities a resinous substance. This Mr. Adams declared was the alcornoque, so famous for the cure of consumptions, and is probably the same as that mentioned by Colnet, and called by him the algarrooa.

      The only quadrupeds found on the island were tortoises, lizards, and a few sea guanas; the land guana was not to be found. Doves peculiar to those islands, of a small size, and very beautiful plumage, were very numerous, and afforded great amusement to the younger part of the crew in killing them with sticks and stones, which was no ways difficult, as they were very tame. The English mocking-bird was also found in great numbers, and a small black bird, with a remarkably short and strong bill, and a shrill note; those were the only birds except aquatic found here; the latter were not numerous, and consisted of teal, which frequented a lagoon on the east part of the bay, pelicans, boobies, and other birds common to all the islands of those seas; sea turtles and seals were scarce and shy.

      That every person might be employed to the most advantage, I directed that those having charge of prizes should paint them, and otherwise put them in good order, as to appearance, in the expectation that they would bring a higher price among the Spaniards, to whom I intended offering them for sale the first opportunity. They were noble ships, and a little paint added greatly to the beauty of their appearance. I also recommended to captain Randall to change as much as possible the paint and appearance of his ship, in order that we might not be traced by her, as she was well known on this coast. The appearance of the Essex had been so frequently changed, that I had but little apprehensions of her being known again by those who had seen her be-

fore, or from any description that could be given of her. While we lay here, I permitted all the prisoners to go on shore whenever they wished it, as many of them were affected with the scurvy; but one in particular was so bad with it as to be scarcely able to move; but on getting him on shore, where he could procure a kind of sorrel and the prickly pear, and burying his legs in the earth every day, he was so far recovered before our departure, as scarcely to complain of his disease, and could walk as briskly as any among us, assisting frequently in bringing down water and tortoises from the rocks and mountains.

      We here found the tomb of a seaman, who had been buried five years before, from a ship called the Georgiana, commanded by capt. Pitts, the captain of one of our prizes of the same name; and over it was erected a white board, bearing an inscription, neatly executed, shewing his age, &c. and terminating with the following epitaph, which I insert more on account of the extreme simplicity of the verse, and its powerful and flattering appeal to the feelings, than for its elegance, or the correctness of the composition;

                        Gentle reader, as you pass by,
                        As you are now, so wonce was I;
                        As now my body is in the dust,
                        I hope in heaven my soul to rest

      The spot where his remains were deposited was shaded by two lofty thorn-bushes, which afforded an agreeable shade and fragrance, and became the favourite resort of our men at their meals; the pile of stones (which had been piously placed over the grave by his ship-mates) serving them both for table and seat, where they indulged themselves amply in their favourite food, and quaffed many a can of grog to his poor soul's rest

      On the 20th May, in the morning, discovered the two whaleboats returning with Mr. Adams from the island they had been sent to survey; and as I was apprehensive that they had exhausted their stock of water, I dispatched a boat with a supply, which proved very acceptable, as they had been eighteen hours without

any. Mr. Adams informed me, that he had made a complete survey of the island, and had determined the latitude and longitude of the principal points; but that, on the most careful examination, he had not been able to find either good anchorage or fresh water; but stated that it abounded in wood, and that land-tortoises and green turtle were in the greatest abundance, the former generally of an enormous size, one of which measured five feet and a half long, four feet and a half wide, and three feet thick, and others were found by some of the seamen of a larger size; from this island, James,' Albemarle, Norfolk, Barrington, Crossman's, Charles', and many others were to be seen; but he could perceive none that bore the slightest resemblance, in position or appearance, to those called by captain Colnet Duncan's and Jarvis' islands; and as this island was now destitute of a name, and he could perceive no traces of its having been visited before, he highly complimented me, by giving it the name of Porter's island.

      The S.W. landing of this island is in latitude 0° 42' 14" S., longitude 90° 27' 9" W.

      The N.W. landing is in latitude 0° 32' 40" S., longitude 90° 23' 54" W.

      The N.E. landing is in latitude 0° 31' 12" S., longitude 90° 12' 45" W.

      Having now got on board as much wood as we stood in need of, and all the water that could be procured, as well as a stock of salt provisions from the prizes, and a supply of tortoises, we had nothing to detain us longer at Charles' island; I therefore made the signal to prepare to weigh, and at 9 o'clock on the morning of the 21st, weighed our anchor, and, in company with our prizes, stood to the south-west, with a view of getting an offing sufficient to enable us to weather Charles' island on the other tack, which I had reason to hope we could do without much difficulty, as I perceived we had a current setting to the southward. We found our stream-cable a little chafed by the rocks, but less so than I had apprehended, from the quality of the bottom we had anchored in

      I should have mentioned before, that Mr. Adams, on the night of his return from Porter's island, fell in with a ship, which he passed at the distance of gun-shot from her; she bore much the appearance of an English vessel, had a tier of guns, and was bound toward Albemarle; in consequence of which, I determined to run down for Banks' bay to look for her, should the current haye [sic] proved against our getting to the southward; for I not only hoped, by so doing, to secure a valuable prize, but expected to be enabled to get a supply of water from her, which was what we now stood more in need of than any other article whatever.

      On obtaining the above information from Mr. Adams, I believed it probable that we should be enabled to see the stranger from some one of the adjacent hills; under this expectation I landed on the western point of the bay, and, in company with lieutenant Gamble of the marines, and Mr. Shaw, purser, proceeded to ascend a high and rugged mountain there situated, which did not appear to us to be a difficult task to attempt; but we were soon convinced of our error, for it was not without great labour and fatigue, and at the risk of our lives, that we succeeded in reaching the top of it, after crawling through thorn-bushes, wounding ourselves by the prickly pear-trees, and scrambling over the loose lava, which tore our shoes, and was every moment giving way under us. We at length, however, arrived, exhausted with thirst, heat, and fatigue, at the summit, where we had an extensive view of the islands, but could perceive no vessels in the offing. Our descent was no less hazardous; and on our way back we found a large tortoise, which we opened with some difficulty, with the hope of finding some water to allay our thirst; but we were disappointed in only finding a few gills, of a disagreeable-tasted liquid, but little better than urine; this our stomachs revolted at; we therefore had recourse to sucking the leaf of the prickly pear, which we found to serve our purpose.

      Prior to my departure, I left the following letter for Mr. Downes, buried in a bottle at the foot of the stake to which the letter-box was attached

      We made every exertion all night to keep to windward, but without effect; for in the morning Gardner's island bore west, about three leagues distant. Charles' Island was plain in sight, and, to add to the mortification, the Montezuma (which we had discontinued towing during the night, on account of our own safety) was as far to leeward as we could see her. I found it was in vain to struggle against this eternal current with such dull sailers, and saw no hopes of holding our own but at anchor; our want of water was very pressing, and I saw no prospect of getting into the continent to procure a supply; I therefore determined to bear away, look into the harbour of Charles' island, and proceed from thence to the island of Cocos, looking into Banks' Bay in my way there. I had also some hopes of meeting the Georgiana, or hearing from her, at Charles' island. I was the more strongly induced to bear away, as captain Randall informed me, the preceding evening, that he had discovered some of the garbage of whales floating on the surface of the water near Hood's Island, a certain indication of whalers having been lately there; and as I believed there were now a greater number about Albemarle than could be managed by lieutenant Downes, I thought it most advisable to proceed there, entertaining, at the same time, a hope, that by their capture we should be enabled to procure a supply of water. Shortly after we had bore away, with the Montezuma in tow, signal was made from the Policy to speak with me. I felt a conviction in my own mind, that it was caused by the death of that poor unhappy man, doctor Miller; and on the arrival of the boat along side, it proved to be the case; he had died a few minutes before the signal was made, and it was supposed that the danger we were in of going on shore the preceding night, as well as the disappointment occasioned by our not being able to get clear of the islands, tended greatly to hasten his death. I directed a coffin to be made for him, with an intention of burying him on one of the islands, if it should be in my power, and requested Mr. Shaw to go on board to make arrangements for his funeral.

      I now appointed doctor Hoffman acting surgeon of the Essex, with the pay and emoluments of surgeon. The indefatigable attention of this gentleman to the sick, merits the highest enco-

miums, and to his providential care may be attributed in a great measure the extraordinary health we have all to this period enjoyed.

      I ran close in for Charles' Island, and sent the boat on shore with the following note, to be left in the bottle, and on her return bore away for Albemarle

escape me, I caused the prizes to spread off in different directions, keeping at signal-distance, and there to keep a good look-out, with orders to make a signal to me in the event of their discovering any strange vessel, but ordered them to close in with the Essex at night, to guard against separation.

      Benjamin Geers on this day departed this life, after an illness of about two hours. He complained of a violent pain in his breast, was constantly calling for water, and died in violent convulsions, frothing very much at the mouth. His death could not be well accounted for; many were of opinion, and myself among others, that be had taken arsenic; and yet we could assign no reason for his doing so, as he always appeared perfectly happy and contented. He was a valuable man on board the ship, and his death was much regretted.

      On the afternoon of the 28th, as we were standing to the northward with the Montezuma in tow, the Barclay looking out on our starboard, and the Policy on our larboard quarter, the men on the look-out on board the Essex discovered a sail right a-head; immediately the Montezuma was cast off, and all sail made in chace. At sunset we could see her plainly from deck, and, as she was standing from us with all the sail she could crowd, I entertained no hopes of coming up with her in the night, as I had no doubts of her altering her course, and thus eluding us. I continued, however, to carry all the sail the ship would bear, in hopes of nearing him as much as possible; and, being well aware of the prevalence of calms in this quarter, I had strong hopes that, as usual, it would fall calm before morning, and keep us in sight of each other; but as the wind continued fresh, and believing he would change his course as soon as it grew dark, I hove to, at 9 o'clock, for the other vessels to come up, when I directed the Montezuma to run N.W. (which was his bearing when we last saw him) seven miles, and then heave to, the Barclay to run the same distance to the east, and I intended sending the Policy to the S.W., but she did not come up in time. This arrangement I hoped would enable one or the other of the vessels to get sight of the chace in the morning, and I was not disappointed; for next day the Montezuma made a signal for a sail to the north-

ward, and at the same time we bore away in pursuit of her with all the sail we could carry, and it was not until two hours after we had given chase to her that we could discover her from our masts' heads. About meridian the wind began to die away; I had now sight of the stranger from deck, and had no doubt of his being an enemy. The Montezuma was still between us and him, and distant from us about six miles. I determined now that he should not again escape us, for I was fully convinced this was the same vessel we had chased the day before. I directed three of the fastest rowing boats to be manned with as many men as they could carry, and armed, and to proceed, under the command of lieut. Wilmer, to the Montezuma, with orders to take three of that ship's boats, and before night to proceed to take his station astern of the stranger, so that he could keep sight of him, placing the other in a line astern of him, so that a communication could be had by signal from the headmost boat to the Montezuma, and from thence to the Essex; and by this arrangement I hoped to be guided by flashes in my pursuit of the enemy, and prevent the probability of his escaping. I directed lieutenant Wilmer not to make any attack on her, unless it should prove perfectly calm, and then to row up with muffled oars, and board him by surprize; and to prevent any other mode of attack being made, I allowed them no other arms than a pistol, cutlass, and boarding-axe each.

      After the boats had left us, a breeze sprung up, which enabled us to continue the chase; and, as we soon passed the boats, I made a signal for the Montezuma to heave to and pick them up. As we approached the chase, she hauled close on a wind to the eastward, and shortly afterwards hove about to stand for us; and, from her warlike appearance, and the signals made by her, I supposed her to be an English sloop of war, as she wore both the English ensign and pendant. I now made such preparations for action as my weak crew would admit of, directing the marines and top-men to lay by their muskets, and for them, as well as the bracemen and all others on board, to take their stations at the guns. All my officers were away from the ship, but still I could

not perceive that the small remains of my men had in time of need lost any of their wonted energy and zeal.

      We were soon along side of him, when I hoisted English colours, and directed her commander to come on board, which order was soon complied with, when at this instant another strange sail was descried from the mast head. A few men were taken out of our prize, which proved to be the British letter of marque ship Atlantic, Obadiah Wier master, employed in whaling, and mounting six guns (eighteen pounders). As soon as the Montezuma came up, I threw some men on board the Atlantic, with lieutenant M'Knight, and sent her in pursuit of the other stranger to the N.W., while I steered more northerly; for, as the Atlantic was reputed the fastest sailer in those seas, I had no doubt, by this means, of rendering her capture certain. We were soon convinced that the Atlantic deserved her character for sailing, as during the chace we had very little advantage of her, notwithstanding we had all the sail we could carry, and she the whole time without her studding-sails, as she had none bent. Night was now fast approaching; we were doubtful whether we were near enough to keep sight of our new chace, which our prisoners informed us was another British letter of marque; and, as it grew dark, we once lost sight of her; but we soon discovered her again by means of our night glasses, and on her heaving about to elude us (on the supposition that we could no longer see her), we soon got along side of her, and on, firing a shot at her, she hove to. I directed her commander to repair on board, which he refused to do, until he knew who we were. I now perceived by his lights that he was prepared for action, and fired one shot between his masts to intimidate him, threatening him with a broadside if he did not repair on board immediately; and this had the desired effect, as he soon came on board, prepared to meet in us an enemy. This vessel proved to be the British letter of marque ship Greenwich, of ten guns, a prime sailer, employed in the whale fishery. Her captain had taken in a good stock of Dutch courage, and, from the preparations that were made on board his vessel, there could be no doubt of his intentions to have fired into us, had he not been intimidated by the shot we fired between his masts. He express-

ed great regret that the Atlantic and his ship had not joined one another before their capture, as he believed they would then have been more than a match for us; and, indeed, considering the then weakened state of the crew, and the absence of every officer (except the chaplain, the clerk, and the boatswain, from whom I received every assistance in their power), it seems not unlikely (as they were in every respect well prepared for action) that they would have given us some trouble, and have rendered the capture of one of them at least doubtful.

      I must here observe, that the captain of the Atlantic (an American from Nantucket, where he has a wife and family), on his first coming on board the Essex, expressed his extreme pleasure on finding (as he supposed we were) an English frigate in those seas. He informed me that he had sailed from England under convoy of the Java frigate, and had put into port Praya a few days after the Essex, an American frigate, had left there; and that the Java had sailed immediately in pursuit of her, and that it was the general belief the Essex had gone around the Cape of Good Hope. He parted with the Java after crossing the line, and on his arrival at Conception heard she had been sunk off Bahia by the American frigate Constitution. On enquiry respecting the American vessels in the South Seas, he informed me that about Conception was the best place to cruize for them, for he had left at that place nine of them in an unprotected and defenceless state, and entirely at a loss what to do with themselves; that they were almost daily arriving there, and that he had no doubt, by going off there, we should be enabled to take the most of them. I asked him how he reconciled it to himself to sail from England under the British flag, and in an armed ship, after hostilities had taken place between the two countries. He said he found no difficulty in reconciling it to himself, for, although he was born in America, he was an Englishman at heart. This man appeared the polished gentleman in his manners, but evidently possessed a corrupt heart, and, like all other renagadoes, was desirous of doing his native country all the injury in his power, with the hope of thereby ingratiating himself with his new friends. I permitted him to remain in his error some time, but at length introduced to him the

captains of the Montezuma and the Georgiana, who soon undeceived him with respect to our being an English frigate. I had felt great pity for these two last gentlemen, and had made the evils of war bear as light on them as possible, by purchasing of them, for the use of the crew, their private adventures, consisting of slop-clothing, tobacco, and spirits, for which they were sincerely grateful; but to this man I could not feel the same favourable disposition, nor could I conceal my indignation at his conduct: he endeavoured to apologize away the impression his conduct had made, by artfully putting the case to myself; and, with a view of rendering him easy, as I did not wish to triumph over the wretch, I informed him that I was willing to make some allowances for his conduct.

      After the capture of the Greenwich, I informed her commander, John Shuttleworth, as well as Obadiah Wier, of the Atlantic, that I felt every disposition to act most generously toward them. Shuttleworth was however so much intoxicated, and his language so insulting, that it was with difficulty I could refrain from turning him out of my cabin. Wier was more reserved during my presence there; but, duty requiring me on deck, he, in the presence of some of the officers, used the most bitter invectives against the government of the United States; and he, as well as Shuttleworth, consoled themselves with the pleasing hope, that British frigates would soon be sent to chastise us for our temerity in venturing so far from home. They were at length, however, shewn to the apartment alloted them, and feeling, in some measure, restraint removed, they gave full vent to their anger, and indulged in the most abusive language against our government, the ship and her officers, lavishing on me in particular the most scurrilous epithets, and gave me appellations that would have suited a buccanier. They really appeared to have forgotten they were prisoners and in my power, and that it would be more to their advantage to trust entirely to my generosity, than to irritate me by such unprovoked abuse. However, I determined next day to make them sensible of the impropriety of their conduct, and did so without violating either the principles of humanity or the rules of war. I let them feel that they were dependent entirely on my generosity, was more

generous than they either deserved or expected, and this haughty Englishman, who would wish to have terrified us with the name of a Briton, and this renegado, who would have sacrificed the interests of his country, were now so humbled by a sense of their own conduct, and of what they merited, that they would have licked the dust from my feet had it been required of them to do so.

      The whole of the next day was occupied in arranging the crews of our new prizes, and getting the baggage of the prisoners out of them; and it afforded me no small degree of pleasure to discover, that the Atlantic had on board about one hundred tons of water, an article of more value to us than any thing else she could have had; for we scarcely had water remaining on board our own ship, to take us even to the island of Cocos, and some of our prizes were very far short of the necessary supply; and none others having more than sufficient to answer their purpose; it was also a consolation to find, that by these two last vessels we had obtained the most abundant supply of provisions of every description, and naval stores, such as cordage, canvas, paints, tar, &c. &c., more than we required; also seamen's clothing in considerable quantities, and of a superior quality, for our people; and as these vessels had been only a few days from James' island, we found on board them 800 tortoises of a very large size, and sufficient to furnish all the ships with fresh provisions for one month.

      Our fleet now consisted of six sail of vessels, without including the Georgiana. On board of the last captured vessels I put a sufficient number of men to fight their guns, giving lieutenant M'Knight charge of the Atlantic, and, for want of sea-officers, I put lieutenant Gamble of the marines in charge of the Greenwich. I had much confidence in the discretion of this gentleman; and, to make up for his want of nautical knowledge, I put two expert seamen with him as mates, one of whom was a good navigator.

      Volunteers continued to offer from the captured vessels, and my whole effective force in those seas now consisted of

together with one midshipman and six men on board the Barclay. My prisoners amounted in number to 80; but as I had divided them among the different ships, giving them full allowance of provisions, on condition of their giving their assistance in working, we found them as useful as our own men in navigating the prizes; so that our whole number, including the prisoners, amounted to 420, and all in good health, with the exception of some of the prisoners, who were slightly affected with the scurvy.

      The capture of those vessels, in consequence of the supply of water they afforded, induced me to change my intentions of going to the Island of Cocos for a stock; as they were such prime sailers, I hoped that, by their taking in tow the Barclay and Policy, while I took care of the Montezuma, we should be enabled to get to windward of the Islands, so as to fall in with the track of vessels bound from the continent to the Gallapagos, or, at all events, to reach Charles' Island, where I hoped to join the Georgiana, or, if she should not have arrived there, to leave different instructions for her commander; and as we had been swept by the current, for the two last days, considerably to the southward, I believed we should be greatly assisted thereby, and succeed in executing my intentions without much difficulty. The dull-sailing vessels were therefore taken in tow, and every exertion made to get to windward, with the hope of weathering the south point of Albemarle; but although the wind favoured us on every tack, we found it impossible to get around it, as the current, which (until we had brought it to bear east) had favoured us, now left us, and an adverse current, equally strong, rendered all our exertions to get to the southward ineffectual: nothing was left for us but to bear away,

and endeavour to get around to the northward of the islands; and during the calms which succeeded the light and variable winds we had for the three last days experienced, I took the opportunity of getting an anchor and cable, and three thousand five hundred gallons of water, from the Atlantic and Greenwich, as well as a supply of tortoises, and such other articles as we stood immediately in want of.

      The Greenwich proved to be the vessel that had been seen by Mr. Adams, and the Atlantic the one that had taken from Charles' Island the barrel of water and bread, which the captain informed me was done with a view of preventing his men from deserting, a circumstance which he greatly apprehended, while they could be certain of finding a supply of those articles on the island.

      It seems somewhat extraordinary, that British seamen should carry with them this propensity to desert even into merchant vessels, sailing under the flag of their nation, and under circumstances so terrifying; but yet I am informed, that their desertion while at Charles' Island has been very common, even when there was no prospect whatever of obtaining water but from the bowels of the tortoises. This can only be attributed to that tyranny, so prevalent on board their ships of war, which has crept into their merchant vessels, and is there aped by their commanders. Now mark the difference. While the Essex lay at Charles' Island, one-fourth of her crew was every day on shore, and all the prisoners who chose to go; and I even lent the latter boats, whenever they wished it, to go for their amusement to the other side of the island. No one attempted to desert or to make their escape; whenever a gun was fired, every man repaired to the beach, and no one was ever missing when the signal was made.

      On the 6th June, we were abreast the Island of Narborough, and in the afternoon saw a thick column of smoke, rising rapidly as from its centre, ascending to a great height in the air, where it spread off in large white curls, and presented us a grand and majestic spectacle. We soon discovered that one of the numerous volcanoes had burst forth; but there were various opinions as to its situation: some supposed it to be on Narborough, others to the east of Narborough, and on the Island of Albemarle. I was

of the latter opinion, and was confirmed in it next day, when we had changed our position. At night the whole atmosphere was illuminated by it; and yet we could perceive neither flames nor sparks thrown out by the crater; and I am induced to believe the irruption was of short continuance, as, on the night of the 7th, I could perceive no appearance of it, although our distance, I should have supposed, would have admitted of our seeing it, had it not become extinct.

      The winds now began to freshen from the S.E., and gave us at length some hopes of getting from those islands, where we had been so long and unexpectedly delayed by calms and currents. The Spaniards call them the Enchanted Islands, and probably from the great difficulty vessels have found in getting from among them. The title seems well applied, and is such a one as I should have felt disposed to give them, had they been destitute of a name. We have been since the 18th, April among them, and the greatest part of the time making every effort in our power to get clear of them; and although good fortune in making prizes has well rewarded us for the time we have spent, still I think it not unlikely we should have been equally successful on the coast of Peru, had we been enabled to return there.

      On the 8th, we passed to the northward of Abington Island, with a fresh breeze, and all the dull-sailing vessels in tow; but before I bid adieu to the Gallapagos, I shall offer a few hints to those who may hereafter visit them, either with pursuits similar to mine, or in search of whales.

      In the first place, I would recommend to those who may come in search of whalers, to make Hood's Island and Charles' Island, both of which places I would advise them to search carefully for vessels and traces of their having been there; from thence they should proceed to Albemarle, looking into both Elizabeth and Banks' Bay; and, should they find none at either of these places, let them proceed to cruize in sight of Rock Rodondo, which lies off the north head of Albemarle. Here they will be sure of meeting with whalers, if they are about the Gallapagos; for this is the position they always attempt to keep, as whales most abound there. They, to be sure, get swept sometimes to the northward

and westward, and sometimes, but less frequently, to the southward, by the rapid currents; but they make every exertion to get back again to their favourite spot; and although the British whalers have, during their wars with Spain, been frequently captured here by Spanish cruizers sent out for the purpose, and have, even in times of peace, been seized here by the Spaniards, on suspicion of having contraband goods, and sent in for adjudication, still they continue to resort here, and will, no doubt, so long as spermaceti whales are to be found; and I confidently believe, that in any future war between America and England, and indeed during the present war, an American cruizer may be certain of finding as many prizes as she can man, and all fine ships, well supplied, and equipped in a superior manner. Should she at any time need refreshments, none can be better than the tortoises, turtle, and fish, with which the islands and sea abounds; wood can be had in the greatest abundance; and at certain seasons, no doubt, water can be obtained without difficulty; and it is not unlikely that some of the islands furnish running streams, where ships may always get a supply; but they are but little known, and I have to regret that my pursuits did not admit of my giving them a more thorough examination. I have no doubt but the spring formerly mentioned at Charles' Island is a never-failing one, where water may at all times be had; the distance from the sea, to be sure, is great, and but few would attempt to water a ship of war from it; it may, however, be of use to those who are really suffering for water. Colnet and others mention streams of water at James' and Chatham Islands, but I am induced to believe, from what I have learnt from my prisoners, that they owe their existence to temporary rains, and are similar to the place I visited near the basin in Albemarle, where it is said water has been obtained formerly. Supplies from them, however, are too precarious to place any dependence on, and it is advisable for every vessel visiting the Gallapagos, to lay in a good stock of that necessary article, as they may not be so fortunate as myself in capturing vessels with a large quantity on board, which, although contained in the oily casks of a whale-ship, and from them, it may be supposed, derived no very agreeable taste or smell, but, on the contrary, produced nausea when drunk;

yet we considered it the most valuable part of our prize to us. It is not improbable, that, after heavy rains, vessels may be enabled to procure, as we did, a supply from the hollows of the rocks at Charles' Island; therefore it may not be unnecessary to describe the place, in order that it may be found with more ease.

      At each end of the longest beach, or landing-place, opposite the anchorage, in Essex bay, is a deep ravine, formed by the torrents of water which come, during the heavy rains, from the mountains, and are bedded with a hard and porous kind of rock or lava. We ascended each of those, to the distance of from one and a half to two miles, where we found small hollows, containing, some half a barrel, and others more, but seldom any that contained more than six or seven barrels; but, as incredible as it may appear to those who may hereafter visit this island, and see the difficulties of approaching this strange watering-place, we took from thence to the ship, in three days, about 70 barrels of water, besides a considerable quantity in kegs and jugs belonging to individuals, and considered as a private stock, amounting in all, perhaps, to 10 or 12 barrels more.

      It may also be necessary to describe more particularly the route to the spring, in order that it may be found by those who have not been there before. On the west part of the island, about six miles from Essex Bay, is a dark sandy beach, called by the whalers, by way of distinction, the Black Beach, opposite to which is an anchorage for vessels, though much exposed to the prevalent winds, and to a heavy swell which is setting in there, and I have reason to believe the bottom is foul, therefore do not consider it by any means a safe anchorage; from the aforesaid beach is a pathway, much trodden, which leads directly to the springs; and this pathway once found, there can be no difficulty in finding the springs, which are about three miles distant from the shore, and where an abundance of water was to be had when we were there. The road here is the best in the island, though in many places steep and difficult.

      The hints already given, intended chiefly for those who may be in pursuit of whalers, may also be of some service to whalers themselves; but as my transactions about these islands have put

me in possession of much information respecting the best situations for catching spermaceti whales, the practices of those who follow that business, and the importance of the southern whale-fishery, I hope I may be pardoned for enlarging a little on that subject, for the advantage of those who are strangers to the Pacific ocean.

      First, as respects the best place for finding spermaceti whales, I should recommend cruizing a short time off the island of Mocha; indeed some vessels have filled up their cargoes at this place, and even farther south; but, as they are here subject to a great deal of tempestuous weather, it is found too harassing for their people, and soon brings on the scurvy and other diseases; from thence angle the coast as far down as Conception, keeping the land in sight; and, after cruizing here a short time, put into Conception for wood, water, and refreshments, if you have not already obtained them at Mocha; from thence work down along the coast of Chili and Peru, keeping at the distance of from 20 to 80 leagues from the land; make the land in the latitude of 14° or 15° south, and from thence down to the Lobos de Mar, keeping at the distance of from 20 to 40 leagues from the land. Cruize close in with the Lobos islands, as the spermaceti whales resort much to this place, and are frequently taken within two leagues of the land; from the Lobos islands proceed to cruize in about the latitude of 5° S., angling down the coast, and inclining off shore towards the Gallapagos islands, about the whole of which spermaceti whales may be found, but in the greatest abundance near Rock Rodondo. To go over the ground I have already marked out, and to examine it with care, will require from three to four months and it should be so arranged, if possible, that your arrival among the Gallapagos should be in the month of May, June, or July; by this means you will escape the most tempestuous seasons of the coast of Chili. After cruizing here two or three months, it is likely that it will be necessary to go into port, on account of the health of your people, as not even the tortoises of those islands will prevent their having the scurvy. Proceed now for Tumbez, on the coast of Peru; here you may, if necessary, renew your stock of water and wood, and lay in a supply of

vegetables. From Tumbez stretch off to the southward and westward, keeping on that tack until you can make Juan Fernandez or Massafuero; then stretch in for Mocha, and go over the same ground again, if you have not already filled your vessel, and it is likely you will not have done so, unless you have had extraordinary success.

      On running down the coast of Chili and Peru, you will frequently observe streaks of coloured water, from 10 to 20 leagues from the land, on the outer edge of which is considered good whaling ground, as the squid, their principal food, keep about those places; and it must be observed, that where soundings are to be had, spermaceti whales are not to he found.

      Secondly, respecting the practices of those who follow this business, I shall only touch on the most important articles, as it is not to be supposed that a pursuit of this nature would be engaged in by those entirely unacquainted with it.

      Fine vessels, of from 250 to 400 tons burthen, mounting from 6 to 18 guns, and manned with from 25 to 35 men, abundantly supplied with whaling geer, casks of a superior quality to contain the oil, large copper tanks, iron boilers, skimmers, tubs, leather hose for starting the oil, spare whale-boats, frames, plank, &c. &c., together with three years supplies of provisions of every description, and of the best kind, as well as clothing for the seamen, and as much water as they can carry conveniently, are dispatched, at an expence of from 50 to 70,000 dollars, on those voyages; the crews are entered on shares, and, at the expiration of the voyage, receive their proportion of the neat proceeds thereof, agreeably to the contract they can make with their owners, the captain generally receiving one-eightieth part of the whole; mates, boat-steerers, harpooners, line-managers, oarsmen, ship-keepers, &c., &c., all being allowed their due proportions. The captains are also pursers for their ships, and make large profits on their supplies of slops, &c., and advances of money to their crews; and as they are allowed to sell on the coast small quantities of merchandize, to defray the expences of refreshing their ships' companies, they derive also considerable profits therefrom; and, by means of presents or bribes to the governors and

others, are enabled to smuggle on shore, and sell at great profits, considerable quantities of dry goods, which are frequently brought out in their oil-casks, for fear of search being made by the Spanish guarda-costas, and other picaroons which infest the coast; for the smuggling business is monopolized entirely by the governors, they allowing no other person whatever to have any concern in it, unless well paid for granting the privilege.

      When the whale is killed, and brought alongside the ship, the separating the head from the body, baling the liquid oil or head matter from the case which contains it, and flinching the whale, or separating the blubber or thick fat from the carcase, as well as trying out the oil, cooling, straining, starting it below, coopering the casks, and frequently wetting and examining them, are all laborious operations, and which it is supposed every one who undertakes to conduct the voyage must be acquainted with, before he engages in the business. If the voyage is successful, every thing that can be made to contain oil is filled with it, even to the buoys of their anchors, jugs, cans, kids, and buckets; and it is no uncommon thing for the oil contained in such small articles to amount to a sum sufficient to pay all the disbursements of a vessel during a voyage of two years. On their arrival in England, their cargoes are worth from 150,000 to 200,000 dollars, when oil is at a fair price, which is from 100 to 110 pounds sterling the ton. With good management and proper industry, to which all are stimulated by the hopes of gain, these voyages generally turn out to great advantage, and are never known to fail, unless from shipwreck, or some other unavoidable disaster. Vessels which come into this sea for the purpose of taking spermaceti oil, never consider it an object to take other whales, although they are so abundant that they would be enabled, in a very short time, to fill up their cargoes with the oil; but it is, when taken, of but little value when compared with the spermaceti, and a full cargo in England would not defray the expenses of the outfits. To those unacquainted with the business, it seems a mystery how they are enabled to determine the class of whale before they are taken. An expert whaler will, however, by the manner of their spouting (at the greatest distance the spout can be seen), tell in an instant

whether it be a hump-back, fin-back, black whale, right whale (or whale producing the whale-bone), or spermaceti whale. The latter is remarkable for throwing the water directly forward, and making a short bushy spout of but a few feet above the surface of the sea whereas some of the others will throw it the height of 30 feet or more. Their motion is also different, being slow and regular, except when pursued; and their head is remarkable for its length, the nose for its bluntness, and the eye for its smallness, not being larger than that of an ox. The striking of them is attended with more danger than that of any other whale, and they are frequently known to attack and destroy both men and boats.

      Thirdly, the fishery is considered by Great Britain of such national importance, that, in the year 1792, that government sent captain James Colnet, of the navy, in the ship Rattler, into the Pacific ocean, for the purpose of discovering such ports for the South Sea whale-fishers, who voyage round Cape Horn, as might afford them the necessary advantages of refreshments and security to refit. This voyage was planned in consequence of a memorial from the merchants of the city of London concerned in the South Sea fisheries, to the Board of Trade, and stated the calamitous situation of ships' crews employed in this trade, from the scurvy and other diseases incident to those who are obliged to keep the seas, from the want of that refreshment which is afforded by intermediate harbours.

      The Spaniards about that time had admitted British vessels into their ports, for the purpose of refitting and refreshing, but under so many restrictions as almost to amount to a prohibition, in which it was expected to end; it therefore became an object of great importance to obtain such a situation as the British commerce then required, independent of the Spaniards, as it was expected it would in a great measure lessen their jealousy, and at the same time accomplish the wishes of the British merchants. With this object in view, captain Colnet sailed from England on the 4th January, 1793, and returned on the 1st November, 1794, after having doubled Cape Horn, running along the coast of Chili, Peru, and Mexico touching at the islands of St Felix and St. Ambrosio, the Gallapagos, Cocos, the isles of Santo Berto, Rocca

Partido, Soccoro, and Quibo, and cruizing in the Gulph of California. In the course of this voyage, which occupied twenty-two months, it does not appear that he made either any new discoveries, or accomplished the object for which he was sent out. It was found necessary, therefore, to stimulate seamen to the undertaking voyages of such length and importance (where their sufferings were like to be so great), by every motive of interest, and to this end, on the 22d June, 1795, the British parliament passed an act for further encouraging and regulating the southern whale-fisheries, in which it is enacted, that for eight whale ships or vessels which shall sail from England on the last day of December of every year, for three years, and proceed into the Pacific, either by the way of the Streights of Magellan, or around Cape Horn, and shall not return in less than sixteen calendar months, nor be absent longer than two years, premiums shall be allowed as follows;

      The ship bringing the greatest quantity of oil and head-matter, provided it exceeds thirty tons, is entitled to six hundred pounds: and each of the other seven ships (provided the oil and head-matter exceeds thirty tons) is entitled to five hundred pounds. And on the 25th May, 1811, it was enacted, that premiums should be paid for the three succeeding years to ten ships, under the conditions aforesaid.

      It was also further enacted (with a view of extending the whale-fisheries, and giving encouragement to foreigners to establish themselves in England, and particularly Americans, who were supposed to be the most skilful in that pursuit), that forty families of foreigners, who had carried on that business, might establish themselves at the port of Milford, in the county of Pembroke, bringing with them twenty ships, with their crews, on giving bond, that they will reside in the kingdom of Great Britain during three years, and that they will not absent themselves during that time, without the consent of his majesty, except it be on a whaling-voyage. Those ships, on their first arrival, and afterwards, were allowed to import cargoes of oil, on paying the same duties as are paid on oil imported in British vessels, provided the owner should have taken the oath of allegiance to his majesty, in

which case he enjoyed the same privileges and advantages as a British subject, and was entitled to all the bounties and premiums granted to any British ship employed in the whale-fishery, but subject to the same regulations and penalties. An enterprizing quaker, named Benjamin Rotch, who had long conducted the whaling-business at Nantucket, embraced the liberal offers of the British government (the object of which was no doubt the destruction of our fisheries), and established himself, with several families, at the port of Milford, taking with him a number of ships, where he carried on business to great advantage. One of his ships (the Montezuma), with a British register, fell into my hands; and this, it seems, is the only misfortune which has been known to happen to any of his vessels, since he established himself in England.

      It is supposed there are not less than sixty ships employed in the southern sperm whale-fishery, including those off New Zealand, Tiane, and about the Cape of Good Hope, which, with their outfits on leaving England, may be estimated at three millions, and on their arrival with their cargoes to twelve millions of dollars. These ships are bound, under certain penalties, to have on board an apprentice for every fifty tons burthen, who, as well as the rest of their crews, is protected from impressment into his majesty's service. They are all permitted to arm and sail without convoy, but on their return from their voyages always touch at St. Helena to join the homeward bound fleets, as their cargoes are then too valuable to trust to the paltry defence which they could make with their few men and guns

      As I before observed, we passed, on the 8th of June, to the northward of Abington island, and from thence made the best of our way for the river Tumbez, intending, however, to touch at the island of La Plata on my way there, to leave a letter for lieutenant Downes, for I judged, from the difficulties which I had experienced in getting to windward, that he would not be enabled to reach Charles' island, and consequently would not receive my instructions to go to the island of Cocos, a route now by no means necessary, as our want of water had been amply supplied by our last prizes. I still, however, felt desirous of joining him as soon as possible, and, feeling much confidence in his punctuality, I felt it incumbent on me to repair to the appointed rendezvous with all dispatch.

      Nothing of consequence transpired from the time of leaving the Gallapagos to our making the land of Peru, in the latitude of 0° 47' 28" south, on the 14th. On the beginning of our passage, the winds blew from the south-east, but, as we approached the coast, they gradually hauled to the south, and when we made the land they blew from the south-south-West. I had felt some uneasiness, on account of the difficulty I should meet with in getting to the southward; but the captains of the prizes assured me we should have the wind and current both favourable as we approached in shore, which proved to be the case. In this run we saw no vessels, although I kept my prizes spread in every direction on the look-out, Every favourable opportunity that offered I embraced, to supply ourselves from our prizes with such things as were necessary for the ship, and, among other precious articles, I was so fortunate as to obtain a new cable, sufficiently large for the Essex.

      On the night of the 16th, discovered the land ahead, bearing S. by E.; and as we had, the preceding day, been beating up

along shore, and I had expected, in the morning, to be up with the Island of La Plata, and as the haziness of the weather gave this the appearance of an island, I was fully impressed with a belief of this being La Plata, made every preparation for anchoring, and stood boldly in, keeping the lead going, having regular soundings and muddy bottom, our first cast of the lead giving us 45, which gradually shoaled to 25 fathoms, without any material change in the quality of the bottom. At break of day, we were not more than two and a half miles from the shore; and standing in for a white sandy beach, on which I saw some fishermen hauling their nets; and as it grew light, I discovered the steeple of a church, and shortly afterwards a town in the mountains. The haze now cleared off, and enabled me to see a great extent of coast, and I soon perceived that we had mistaken Cape Lorenzo for the Island of Plata, and had been set by the current, which had changed during the night, into the deep bay formed by that and Cape Pasado, in which is the convenient port of Manta, which takes its name from a fish of that name, caught there in great abundance. I had made the signal to prepare to anchor; but, on discovering my mistake, soon changed my determination, although I perceived no danger, and indeed sent a boat in to sound, within a quarter of a mile of the shore, where good anchorage was to be had in 15 fathoms, well sheltered from the prevalent winds, and smooth landing; but I could perceive no rivulet of water, though it is not improbable one is to be found there, as the land was very much cut up by deep ravines. This place afforded convenient anchorage; but my object was to touch at the Island of Plata, which I had understood furnished both wood and water, as well as good anchorage on the east side, in twenty fathoms, opposite to a small sandy bay. At this place, it is said, admiral Drake anchored, and divided his plunder; and as it was said to be a place little frequented, and furnished both hogs and goats, I believed (should it answer the description given of it) that it would be an admirable place for a rendezvous, as all British, and indeed other vessels, bound either from the Gallapagos to Tumbez, as well as those from Mexico, Panama, &c. &c. and bound to the south, all pass within sight of this island, as indeed do those bound to the north from Lima

and other parts of Peru, as well as those from the coast of Chili; and this island was supposed to be the more suitable for our purpose, as it was represented as very high, and affording an extensive view of the horizon. Every exertion was therefore made to reach this desirable spot, which began to shew itself above the horizon, bearing S.E., as soon as we had stretched out of the bay. On the evening of the 16th, we weathered the Island of La Plata, which appeared on every part perpendicular and inaccessible, the surf beating with great violence on the south and west sides. On the summit were thinly scattered prickly pear and other bushes, and off the south side stood a few rocks or islets, or rather detached pieces of the island, for they had been evidently separated therefrom by the sea breaking through. We ran along about two miles to windward of the island, and had 25 fathoms, coarse gravel and shells; and as it was too late to give it an examination that night, kept between that and the continent (from which it is distant about 5 leagues) until the morning, having soundings in from 22 to 25 fathoms. While standing in for the island, and at the distance of from 3 to 5 leagues from it, we saw innumerable shoals of spermaceti whales, all going with great rapidity to the N.W.; and the whalers on board assured me, that they never before had seen them in such numbers together. Their keeping so close together, and their rapid movements, they said, was a certain sign of their having been lately pursued, either by whalers, or by a fish very destructive to them, called the whale-killer: and when we got on soundings, inside the island, we were surrounded by an equal number of that kind of whale called the fin-back. At day-light I ran in for La Plata, until I supposed myself within two miles of it, when I hove to. A small sail was discovered to the eastward, in chace of which I sent the Atlantic and Greenwich; then took two whale-boats, and proceeded to examine the island, giving directions for the Essex to lie off and on until my return. I soon found I had been deceived in estimation of my distance from the island, for, on my arrival there, I could scarcely see the ships. On the east side, I found a soft, white, sandy beach, with smooth water, and every appearance of good anchorage and shelter; but on sounding within musket shot of the shore, could get

no bottom with 22 fathoms of line, and on the strictest examination, could find no fresh water, although I went on shore at every place where it was possible for a boat to land; and I can say with safety, that the Island of La Plata affords no fresh water, except during heavy rains, which are very uncommon on this coast; nor does it afford wood in sufficient quantities to supply ships.

      This island has been much frequented by the pearl fishers, and those employed in salting fish, of which we had sufficient testimony in the large piles of shells of the pearl oyster, as well as considerable heaps of salt, and ground cleared away, levelled, and otherwise prepared for drying fish, which are more abundant at this island than any other place I have visited in those seas, and are of the same kind as those found among the Gallapagos. The only birds we found here were boobies, and man-of-war hawks. We saw no seals on or about the island, and only two turtles were seen, and they some distance from the shore. No animals or their traces were discovered on the shore; and the aspect of the whole island was the most desolate imaginable. It is about eight miles in circumference, and offers no advantages whatever, that I could discover, to induce navigators to touch there; and although it is represented to have been a favourite resort for the buccaniers, who stopped there for the purpose of watching the Spanish fleets, I am induced to believe that the want of anchorage would have prevented their using it for that purpose, although I acknowledge that its want of every other advantage prevented my giving it so strict an examination in that respect as I should otherwise have done.

      As I thought it not unlikely that Mr. Downes would touch at this place, with the expectation of finding letters from me, I left one suspended in a bottle on the branch of a bush, at the western part of the sand beach; and to attract his attention to this place, I painted on the side of a rock the two letters S. X., of so large a size as to be seen at a considerable distance. The sound of these two letters approaching so near to that of the name of the frigate, would be a sufficient proof to lieutenant Downes of our having been there, and would naturally lead to a strict search for further information respecting us; while, at the same time, they would be incomprehensible to any other person, as my letter was

couched in such terms as to be understood only by those belonging to the expedition.

      I did not get back to the ship until twelve o'clock. The Greenwich and Atlantic had returned from their chace of the strange sail, which proved to be a small Spanish brig from Panama bound to Payta; and, on enquiring the news, they informed the commanders of the prizes (supposing them to be English), that a Peruvian privateer, called the Nereyda, had attacked a large American frigate, and shot away her main mast, and that the Nereyda had suffered much in the action; but finding the frigate too powerful, and at the same time to outsail the Nereyda, she found it necessary to endeavour to make her escape, to effect which she was compelled to lighten ship, by throwing all her guns overboard!

      This small brig had run in and anchored in a spacious bay, to avoid our vessels, where she was followed by them. It was represented by lieutenants M‘Knight and Gamble as affording good shelter, anchorage, and landing; and they were informed by the commander of the brig that an abundance of fresh water was to be conveniently obtained from a well near the sea shore. The Spaniards called it the Bay of Cablo.

      On the 19th, made the island of St. Close, or Deadman's Island. It lies in the mouth of the Bay or Gulph of Guyaquil, and owes its last name to the strong resemblance it bears to a corpse, the head lying to the westward. It is equally desolate in its appearance with the island of La Plata, is about three miles in length, extremely narrow, and is said to have anchorage on the north side. The soundings off this gulph extend out of sight of land, where you have from 40 to 45 fathoms, soft muddy bottom. We all ran in for the river Tumbez, which lies on the south side of the gulf, and anchored in a depth of five fathoms and a half water, soft bottom. The outermost breaker, at the mouth of the river, then bore S.W. of us, distant about one mile; Deadman's Island N. 1/2 E.. The surf broke with great violence on the bar which runs across the mouth of the river, as well as on the beach, and on first anchoring I saw but little prospect of succeeding in supplying our wants.

      I had here to lament the death of the best seaman in my ship. John Rodgers, one of the gunner's crew, had, from too great a fondness for rum, become somewhat inebriated, and, while on the main-yard, assisting in furling the main-sail, fell head-foremost on deck (on the very spot where Samuel Groce fell), and shattered his scull. His death was instantaneous, and his remains were interred the next day, with the following appropriate epitaph, placed on a board at his head by his messmates

      Soon after anchoring, capt. Randall proceeded to Tumbez, by my request, to sound the governor as to the reception he was disposed to give us, taking with him a handsome present, and an invitation for him to come on board; and was desired to apologize for my not coming up, on account of indisposition. Soon after his departure, we commenced wooding and watering, both of which we found extremely difficult, on account of the violent surf, which frequently broke our rafts, filled our boats, and endangered the lives of those on board them. We in a few days, however, became more accustomed to it, and were better able to guard against its effects.

      On the 22d, observed captain Randall's boat crossing the bar of the river; with some strangers in, and soon afterwards saw one of them dressing himself in uniform; and on her coming alongside, was informed that this was the governor of Tumbez, accompanied by the collector of the customs, and an old gentleman who called himself the god-father of the governor, and the governor's son. Although the appearance of the whole was as wretched as can well be imagined, policy induced me to shew them every attention; and, to impress them with a belief of my friendly dispo-

sition and respect, I gave them a salute of 9 guns on their coming on board; and while they remained with me, which was until the next day, I paid every attention to them in my power, although their contemptible appearance, which frequently excited the risibility of my crew, made me sometimes blush for my guests. I had, on my first arrival, dispatched the Spaniards found on board captain Randall's ship, to Guyaquil, with a view of getting them out of the way, and prevent them from interrupting, by their information, the friendly intercourse I was desirous of establishing, as well as to endeavour to procure purchasers for my prizes, which I had been informed could be readily obtained there. The collector, however, finding we had nothing to smuggle, and giving up all hopes of making a little money in that way, offered to go to Guyaquil, and bring down purchasers for the ships, provided I would give him $200 dollars for each ship he should be the means of selling. To this bargain I agreed; and the prospect of gaining 8 or 900 dollars, kept the creature restless the whole time he was on board, and he promised to start from Tumbez as soon as he could get a conveyance from thence to Guyaquil. To the governor and his suite, I gave presents to the amount of about $100, before their departure, with strong expectations of more, and they left me with assurances of the most friendly disposition on their part, and the most pressing invitation for me to go to Tumbez, which I promised to do in the course of a day or two. The next day I visited the town or hamlet. It is situated about six miles from the river's mouth, on the left bank of the first rising ground you meet with; from thence to the mouth of the river the land is all low, similar to that of the Mississippi, covered with rushes, reeds, and mangroves, and here and there, on the most elevated parts, are to be found the huts where the natives have settled themselves, for the purpose of cultivating the soil, which produces, in great abundance, cocoa, corn, plantains, melons, oranges, pumpkins, sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, &c. &c. Their houses are formed of reeds, covered with rushes, open at all sides, and having the floor elevated about four feet from the earth, to protect then from the alligators, which are here numerous and of an enormous size. One of them I killed with a musket

ball, 15 feet in length, and of the most hideous appearance. The ball entered below the joint of his fore-leg, near the shoulder, and penetrated his heart, every other part being so well guarded by the thick scales as to render it invulnerable. We saw here vast numbers of wild turkeys, which prove very troublesome to the planters, as well as parrots, vultures, hawks, herons, pelicans, white curlews, and a great variety of small birds with beautiful plumage. The river was filled with fish, some of them of a large size, among which the saw-fish abounded. The stream ran in a serpentine manner through the low grounds, and had several outlets, where the surplus waters escaped to the ocean. Several sunken trees render the ascent as well as descent dangerous. The musquetoes were numerous and tormenting, and in almost every respect this stream bore the strongest resemblance to the Mississippi, except in size and depth, it being not more than 75 yards across in its widest parts, and in many places very shallow.

      I arrived at Tumbez at 11 o'clock, but took the precaution to have my boat's crew well armed, and every arrangement made to secure a retreat if necessary; for, notwithstanding their professions of friendship, I had reason to doubt their sincerity, from the innumerable instances of their treachery on this coast; and I had cause to rejoice in my precautions, as the repeated interrogations of the governor respecting the state of affairs between the United States and Spain, convinced me he had his doubts whether he should attempt to detain me or not, as he was uncertain whether the war between Great Britain and the United States did not extend to their allies, the Spaniards. The hopes, however, of further presents from me, as well, perhaps, as the dread of punishment from us, overcame every other consideration; and although there was a degree of restlessness and uneasiness in the governor, that he could not well conceal, he did all that lay in his power to give me the best reception his means would afford; and while his wife (who was a handsome young native, of Indian and Spanish parents) was cooking the dinner, I strolled about this wretched place, which consisted of about 50 houses, formed in no way different from those on the banks of the river, except that the reeds were placed closer, in the manner of basket-work; and some of

those of the higher class, such as that of the governor and curate, were filled with mud. The inhabitants gave me the most friendly reception, every where invited me into their huts, where hogs, dogs, fowls, jackasses, men, women, and children, were grouped together, and from whence, in a few minutes, I was always glad to make my escape, from the innumerable swarms of fleas with which they were infested; and the house of the governor was no more exempt from this plague than those of the plebeians, of which his wife and naked children bore innumerable testimonies, in the large red blotches on their neck and bodies.

      The men of this place seem to be of the lowest class of those who call themselves civilized; and the women, although of fine forms, animated, cheerful, and handsome countenances, are destitute of all that delicacy, the possession of which only can render the female lovely in our eyes. I shall mention one instance only of the many I witnessed during my short stay in this place, to convey an idea of their total want of decency. The governor's wife had a young child in her arms. I asked her if it was yet weaned; she informed me it was not, that she had plenty of milk, and, to convince me of the truth of the assertion, took out one of her breasts, and spirted the milk to a considerable distance, observing at the same time, that she should not wean him until she found herself again pregnant, accompanying the observation with suitable gestures to make me understand her meaning. The inhabitants, finding that I had some presents to dispose of, came flocking to the governor's, some with a nosegay, some with a pair of fowls, a half dozen of eggs, a few oranges, watermelons, goats, or whatever else they considered most likely to extort from me something of value; but having soon got clear of the articles I had taken with me, which consisted of silk shawls, &c., and having nothing else to dispose of, I was compelled to leave them, in the expectation of my returning with a larger supply. I left Mr. Shaw, the purser, to procure a supply of fruit and vegetables for the crew, not considering it prudent to remain all night from the ship, a thing I was by no means induced to do on a view of the bed I should in such case have been compelled to occupy, which

consisted of four stakes stuck in the ground, with reeds laid across, and over that a thin mat.

      On my return to the ship, a most disagreeable circumstance took place, which, for the credit of the ship, and of the officers of the American navy generally, I wish it was not necessary to relate; but as it took place in the presence of our prisoners, who no doubt will make their representation of it, with suitable embellishments, alterations, and exaggerations, and as it led to some changes of considerable importance, I conceive it proper to give a correct statement of the affair.

      Lieutenant W., the (then) second lieutenant, had in two or three instances become intoxicated, and so much so as to compel me once to arrest him, as at such times his conduct had been extremely violent and offensive to all on board; but as this officer possessed many good qualities, and was much esteemed for his goodness of heart, his brother officers interceded for him, pledging themselves for his future good conduct; and on a solemn promise from him, that he would abstain from ardent liquors while he continued under my command, I relieved him from his arrest, and put him to duty, with an assurance that for another similar offence his authority should for ever cease on board the Essex.

      During my short absence at Tumbez, lieutenant W. felt himself relieved from that restraint which my presence had imposed, and could not resist the opportunity of again indulging in his horrid propensity, which an abstinence of many months had rendered doubly dear to him, and to which he was strongly invited by captain Shuttleworth, the prisoner whom I formerly mentioned as having conducted himself so improperly. On my return he was officer of the deck, and, fearing that I should discover his situation, he left the deck as soon as I entered the ship, and, while I was engaged in conversation with the first lieutenant, retired to his state-room. Not knowing his condition, I sent repeatedly for lieutenant W., who was reported to me as lying in his cot, and could not be made to answer. He had once before attempted to commit suicide, and I felt apprehensive that he had now made attempts on his life. I went to his state-room, where I

found him in his cot, with his face down; and, after considerable difficulty, and repeated efforts to move him, succeeded in turning him over. He now requested me to let him alone; I told him, as he was evidently in his senses, and apparently knew what he was about, I was determined to investigate the cause of his conduct. He then sprang up, and with great violence of gesture and language demanded to know what I intended to do, observing, at the same time, that he had been drunk, and had not had time to get sober. I informed him that he was under arrest. He asked me how long. I told him, as long as the cruize lasted. He then seized a pistol, which he attempted to load, observing, that myself nor any other should have the satisfaction of arresting him. As there was a threatening manner with him, and not knowing whether he intended to use the pistol against me or himself, I grasped him and took it from him. He then attempted to load another, which was also taken from him. He then assured me he had no intentions of using the pistol against me; that, if I would permit him, he would blow his own brains out, observing, that he would put an end to his existence before morning. I now sent for a guard, and had his room searched for arms, which were all taken away from him, and afterwards confined him there, with two centinels at the door, with orders not to permit him to leave it. When the arms were taken out, he refused to go into the room until some violence was used to compel him; he, however, became at length pacified, and by morning dejected and penitent. He frequently declared, that, as he had violated his promise to me as well as to his brother officers who had interceded for him, he could not survive the shame, and had formed the determination of putting an end to his existence the first opportunity which presented itself.

      The ship now being left with only one sea lieutenant, it became necessary to supply the deficiency, and the more so as I had suffered lately much from the want of officers; I therefore ordered lieutenant M'Knight to join the Essex, placing Mr. Adams, the chaplain, in charge of the Atlantic; gave the sailing-master the appointment of acting third lieutenant; and appointed midshipman J.S. Cowan acting fourth lieutenant, giving the ap-

pointment of sailing-master to midshipman Odenheimer; and, to supply their places on board the prizes, I put the younger midshipmen, boys from 12 to 15 years of age, making them nominally prize-masters, with careful seamen, in whom I could confide, to take care of them.

      Our wooding and watering went on briskly, and every thing promised a speedy supply to all our wants, except vegetables. On our first arrival, boats had come off to the ship; but the governor, finding by the purser's remaining in town he could monopolize the whole trade, forbade every person selling any article whatever and placed guards at the river's mouth to prevent boats from coming off to us. Hearing nothing of the purser for two or three days, and not knowing the cause of the boats keeping aloof from us, I had some serious apprehensions for his safety; and this fear was somewhat increased by the disappearance of one of my prisoners, the mate of a ship, whose absence could not be accounted for in any way but on the supposition of his being murdered by the natives, for a few dollars he had taken with him on shore, for the purpose of procuring a few articles for the others. He had been permitted to go on parole, and had left on board a considerable sum of money, as well as all his clothing and other property, and his not returning at the appointed time caused considerable suspicion to us all. Another circumstance which led me to suspect some treachery was a letter I had received from Guyaquil, which shewed the inimical disposition of the governor of that place towards us; and, as the governor of Tumbez was subordinate to him, I felt confident that he would be conformable to the views of his superior, unless I should secure his friendship by fresh presents, which was what I was by no means induced to, while we could supply our most urgent wants without his consent.

      The letter I speak of was as follows;

there is no licence from the government, and it is losing time to think of the same. The sooner you go off the better. The bearer is at present en declarations en government.

      Please to excuse the few, words and signing of

as she was very warlike in her appearance he had made every preparation for action, supposing her at first to be a Spanish sloop of war. His crew at this time only amounted to twenty men and boys, the rest being on board his two prizes, the Catharine and Rose, while his prisoners amounted to upwards of 50, the most of whom he had confined in irons, to prevent their carrying into execution a plan that had been laid for taking his vessel from him. They all, however, volunteered their services to attack the supposed Spaniard; but lieutenant Downes very prudently considered, that, as he now had them in security, he had better keep them so, as they might not be disposed to return to their irons after being placed at liberty, with arms in their possession; he consequently declined accepting their offers, and trusted to the bravery and exertions of his own men for the success of the attack.

      When he had got within hail of the Hector, and ascertained that she was a British ship, he summoned her to surrender; to which he received no reply, but heard her captain give directions for the guns to be cleared away. He now fired a shot, which entered her stern, and did considerable damage, when the captain the Hector gave orders for making sail, and, on being asked if intended to surrender, answered, No, no. Lieutenant Downes now opened his fire on the enemy, and after firing five broadsides, which killed two men and wounded six others dangerously, shot away her main topmast, and most of her standing and running rigging, and rendered the ship a wreck, she struck to the Georgiana. After lieutenant Downes had put a prize crew on board the Hector, his own crew amounted to only ten in number, while his prisoners amounted to seventy-five; it became therefore necessary go get clear of them as soon as possible; and as the Rose proved to be a very dull sailing vessel, and had occasioned him considerable delay, he caused all her guns, and most of her cargo, which consisted of spermaceti oil, to be thrown overboard, and gave the ship up to her captain, on condition that he would proceed to St. Helena with all the prisoners, who entered into an obligation not to serve against the United States unless regularly exchanged. He gave to the captain of the Rose a passport for St Helena, with an assurance, if he attempted to go elsewhere, and should

be met by an American cruizer, his vessel would be taken from him. After lieutenant Downes had got clear of those two great encumbrances, the Rose and his prisoners, he proceeded for Tumbez, where he arrived the day before us; but not finding us there, proceeded to cruize off Cape Blanco for a few days, with an intention of looking into Tumbez occasionally.

      The Georgiana and her prizes anchored near us and our fleet now amounted to nine sail of ships; and as the Atlantic was far superior to the Georgiana, in size, appearance, sailing, and every other qualification necessary for a cruizer, I immediately gave orders for 20 guns to be mounted on her, and removed lieutenant Downes and crew to that ship, placing Mr. Adams in charge of the Georgiana. To the Atlantic I gave the name of the Essex Junior; and as I had received some additions to my crew by volunteers from prizes, I was enabled to increase her crew to sixty men, and appointed midshipman Dashiel sailing-master of her. I also removed from the Greenwich to the other prizes all cumbrous articles, and converted that vessel into a store-ship, putting on board her, from the rest, all provisions, cordage, and other articles of value to us, and mounted on her 20 guns, and by this means secured to us a supply of almost every article we should want for seven months. These changes, and the alterations necessary to be made to fit the Essex Junior for a cruizer, as well as the wooding and watering of the Georgiana and prizes, proved likely to occasion some further delays; every exertion was made to leave the place as soon as possible, and the absence of Mr. Shaw seemed the only important obstacle; at length, however, a boat arrived, and informed me he was on the point of leaving there, and explained the cause of his long detention, which was owing entirely to the avarice and indolence of the governor, who was desirous of monopolizing all the trade, and too indolent to make any exertions to supply our wants. Mr. Shaw, at length, arrived, but was compelled to leave all the articles he had purchased in possession of the governor, as he could not procure a boat to bring them down, and as they were not of sufficient importance to induce me to run any farther risk, I determined to leave them there

      It now became necessary to think of disposing of all my prisoners, as, independent of the inconvenience they were likely to put us to by their great consumption of provisions, they were a great encumbrance to us; and as repeated application had been made to me by them to put them on shore at this place, I at length consented, furnishing them with provisions, and giving to them three boats, for the, purpose of transporting them and their baggage from the river's mouth to Tumbez, which, with a large canoe and a launch which they hired for the purpose, were found fully sufficient. Previous to putting them on shore, I carefully restored to each prisoner (even to that renegado Wier and captain Shuttleworth) every article which had been taken from them, and all entered into an obligation not to serve against the United States until regularly exchanged.

      And now having no occasion to remain longer in Tumbez, I on the morning of the 30th made the signal for getting under way, and on the 1st got clear of the Gulf of Guyaquil, and stretched away to the westward, to fall in with the easterly trade-winds, which are seldom met with until you get from 100 to 150 leagues from the land.

      As the Essex Junior was very imperfectly equipped for a cruize, I continued in company with her, keeping my carpenters and others constantly at work on board her, building up breastworks, and making the necessary alterations on board her; and on the 4th of July a salute of 17 guns was fired from the Essex, Essex Junior, and Greenwich, in commemoration of the anniversary of the independence of the United States; and as we were enabled to procure from the prizes a sufficient quantity of spirits to issue to our crew, the day was spent in the utmost conviviality, their grog being doubly relished from their having for some time past been entirely destitute of it.

      On the 9th, having completed the equipments of the Essex Junior, and there being no necessity for my remaing [sic] longer with her, I directed lieutenant Downes to proceed to Valparaiso with the prize-ships Hector, Catharine, Policy, and Montezuma, and the American ship Barclay, with directions to leave the Barclay there, and to sell the others to the best advantage, leaving-

ing it discretionary with him whether to send the Policy to the United States, she having a full cargo of spermaceti oil, which cannot be sold on this coast without great loss. I furnished him with blank powers of attorney for appointing an agent for the sale of our prizes; and as I gave him directions to procure for the Essex a quantity of spirits and some other articles, I furnished him with $4,000 to make the purchases, in the event of his being disappointed in the sale of the vessels. On leaving me, I gave him sealed instructions, with orders not to open them until he had left Valparaiso, which were as follows

of my being on the coast, and had kept together for mutual protection, and had expressed a determination to seek for and attack me.

      I kept with me the store-ship Greenwich and the Georgiana, intending to send the latter to the United States on my arrival at the islands, as she had her cargo of oil nearly complete, and the season was now approaching which, would be most proper to dispatch her. I was desirous that she should approach our coast in the dead of winter, as British ships of war could not, at that season of the year, keep the sea to blockade our northern ports.

      On the 12th, I made Charles' Island, and hove to for the night; in the morning I ran close in with Essex Bay, and sent the boat on shore to the post-office, and on her return was Informed, that all the papers had been taken from the box; that some small kegs, which had been left through neglect by our people, when last there, had been taken away, as well as some wood we had left on the beach; and that some fresh tortoise shells had been found there, which convinced us that some vessel had been there quite lately.

      The letters for lieut. Downes, buried in the bottle, remained, however, untouched. Those were brought on board, and a short note, informing him of the time of my having stopped there, was left in their place; I then bore up for Banks' Bay, and arrived at midnight off the south head of Albemarle, where I hove to, for the purpose of giving the ground a good examination, and at daylight made all sail to the northward. At 11. A.M. discovered three sail off Banks' Bay, standing on a wind, some distance from each other. I gave chase to the one in the centre; the others. which appeared to be fine large ships, stood on different tacks, with a view of eluding us, while the one I was in chase of bore up from us, I felt apprehensive for the safety of my prizes, which were now a great distance astern of us; and the in-shore ship tacked to windward of us, and stood for them, with a view of cutting them off; but my anxiety was considerably relieved, on seeing the Greenwich heave to for the Georgiana to come up, as I was confident it was for the purpose of getting her crew out, as she soon after stood boldly down for the stranger. We were not long in capturing the vessel we were in chace of, which proved to

be the English ship Charlton, of 10 guns, the captain of which informed me, that the ship now to windward was the Seringapatam, of 14 guns and 40 men, commanded by William Stavers, and that the other was the New Zealander, of 8 guns.

      Notwithstanding the great interest I felt for the critical situation of my prizes, as well as that which every offer must feel when in pursuit of an enemy, I could not help remarking the operations of nature on the south side of Narborough and on the southern part of Albemarle. Narborough appeared to have undergone great changes since our last visit, by the violent irruptions of its volcanoes, and at this time there were no less than four craters in operation on that island, and one on the south part of Albemarle. And I should have before mentioned, that a few hours after leaving Charles' Island, a volcano burst out with great fury from its centre, which would naturally lead to the belief of a submarine communication between them.

      Perceiving that the New Zealander had hove about to stand toward us, I was impressed with a belief that they had got over their alarm; but, from the manoeuvres of the other ship, I was persuaded that he supposed us an enemy, therefore determined to use every effort to take her first. The Greenwich continued to run down for him, while the Georgiana ran for the Essex. I soon threw a crew on board the Charlton, and gave chace. Several broadsides were exchanged between the Greenwich and the Seringapatam, when the latter hauled down her colours, but endeavoured to make her escape in a crippled state, having her sails and rigging much cut. The Greenwich kept up the pursuit close on her quarter; the Essex was coming up with her fast; when, in the dusk of the evening, seeing no possibility of escape, the enemy bore up for the Essex, and surrendered his ship. I immediately took the captain and officers from her, left the Greenwich to take care of her, and pursued the other ship, which I captured in about an hour afterwards.

      It proved to be the Seringapatam which had taken the letters, wood, kegs, &c. from Charles' Island. The capture of this ship gave me more pleasure than that of any other which fell into my hands; for, besides being the finest British ship in those seas, her

commander had the character of being a man of great enterprize, and had already captured the American whale-ship Edward of Nantucket, and might have done great injury to the American commerce in those seas; for although he had come into the Pacific on a whaling voyage, he had given but little attention to that object while there was a hope of meeting American whalers; but on requiring of this man that he should deliver to me his commission, he, with the utmost terror in his countenance, informed me that he had none with him, but was confident that his owners had, before this period, taken out one for him, and that he had no doubt would send it to Lima, where he had expected to receive it. It was evident that he was a pirate, and I did not feel that it would be proper to treat him as I had done other prisoners of war; I therefore ordered him and all his crew in irons; but after enquiring of the American prisoners, whom I found on board the prize, as to the manner they had been treated by the crew of the Seringapatam, and being satisfied that they, as well as the mates, were not to blame for the conduct of their commander, I liberated them from confinement, keeping Stavers only in irons.

      I now bore up for James' Island, at which place I was anxious to arrive, in order that I might, at anchor, be enabled to get from my prizes such articles as we might want, such as anchors and cables, with which they were well supplied; but, on account of the violence of the current, which was setting to the N.W., our attempt was ineffectual; for, notwithstanding every exertion to prevent it, we were swept to the N.W. as far as the latitude of 2° 8' N., and seeing no hopes of succeeding in a short time, I determined to give the Charlton up to the captain, (as she was an old ship, and a dull sailer,) on condition that he should land all my prisoners at Rio de Janeiro, to which contract he, as well as the captain of the New Zealander, bound themselves by oath; and after taking from her a cable, and such other articles as were necessary for us, and sending all her guns and military equipments on board the Seringapatam, I dispatched her on the 19th, with 48 prisoners. The mates and sailors, however, expressed their determination not to go to Rio de Janeiro with the ship, for fear of being pressed on board a British man of war; they were very so-

licitous that I would allow them whale-boats, and let them take their chance in them, declaring that any fate, however dreadful, would be preferable to a servitude in his majesty's navy. To this I would not consent, lest it might be supposed I had turned them adrift in the middle of the Pacific; they then requested to remain by the Essex; I did not wish to be encumbered by them, and would not agree to this proposal. They, however, at length grew turbulent, and I was apprehensive I should have to use some coercive measures, in order to restore to the captains the necessary authority to keep them in order; but, after reasoning with them on the impropriety of their conduct, they became more orderly, and made sail to the southward, giving us at their departure three hearty cheers, and many (I believe sincere) good wishes for our success, and safe return to America.

      As the Seringapatam proved to be a fast-sailing ship, and was in every respect calculated for a man of war (and indeed was built for one, in India, for Tippoo Saib), I determined to render her as formidable as possible, that, in case of any accident happening to the Essex (an event much to be dreaded in a navigation so little known to us), our cruize might not be entirely broken up. With this view I sent the gunners and carpenters to work on her, and in a few days she was completely equipped with 22 guns mounted on her. I gave her in charge to Mr. Terry, master's mate, with directions not to separate from us, and placed the New Zealander under the charge of Mr. Shaw, the purser, with similar instructions.

      We continued our ineffectual exertions to get to the S.E., and on the 22d, discovered Wenam's island, bearing S.S.E., and Culpepper's island bearing W.N.W. I saw now that all attempts to get to James' Island were useless, unless we should be favoured by a change of current; and at 2 o'clock, being but a short distance from Wenam's island, I went with three boats from the Essex, and one from each of the other ships, and returned before sun-set with them all deeply loaded with fish, which afforded several fresh meals for our crew, and if we had been provided with salt, we should have been enabled to have

cured [sic] large quantities of them, but not having any, many were thrown overboard.

      Wenam's island, like the Gallapagos, is evidently of volcanic origin. It is thinly scattered on its summit with withered shrubbery; its sides are every where inaccessible; it affords no anchorage; is 7 or 8 miles in circuit, and has two small islets, one off the S.E. the other off the N.W. parts, but neither more than 100 yards from the island; but there is no danger, except from the rapidity of the currents, in approaching it on any side, and there is every where water enough for the largest ship to lie within a few yards of the shore. We saw here but few turtle, and only one seal. The only birds we saw, were the man-of-war hawk, garnets, gulls, and the black petrell, all of which were very abundant. On the north-west side I discovered the mouth of a cave, very small at the entrance, into which I went with my boat, and proceeded, as near as I can judge, about 100 yards; and, judging from the beating of the sea against the sides, and the echo from the top, I supposed it to be there 40 yards wide, and 20 yards high. We were, however, in perfect obscurity, and the apprehension of not finding my way out again prevented my proceeding further. The water was every where of sufficient depth to float a ship of the line, and in this cavern, and at its mouth, we caught the most of our fish. Bait was scarcely necessary, as they were so ravenous as to bite at the bare hook, the line, and at the boat-hook, with which many were caught. They were of that kind called the rock cod, and were greatly relished by our crew.

      I now stood away on a wind to the southward and westward, with a hope of getting beyond the influence of the current, and thus be enabled to reach the islands again.

      On the 24th, I determined, for several reasons, to send the Georgiana to the United States. In the first place, I considered that, on her arrival on our coast, the season would favour her getting in, as I calculated it would require five months for her to reach it, which would be the dead of winter, and consequently at a time when ships of war cannot cruize on the northern parts, on account of the prevalence of tempestuous weather. Secondly,

the ship had a full cargo of spermaceti oil, which would be worth is the United States about 100,000 dollars, and could not be sold on this coast without making great sacrifices. Thirdly, I was desirous of getting rid of Stavers: he was a man of great cunning, and considerable observation, and, however desirous I might be of concealing my intentions, I was apprehensive that some circumstances might lead him to conjecture rightly as to my future views; and, to put it entirely out of his power to obtain and give such information as was calculated to benefit the enemy, or frustrate my plans, I thought it advisable (as I always intended sending him to America for trial) to dispatch him in the Georgiana. Fourthly, repeated applications had been made to me, by the officers, to overlook the offence of lieutenant W.; and his activity and bravery on board the Greenwich, during her action with the Seringapatam, gave me a secret inclination to do so, without violating my word, or incurring the imputation of inconsistency. To reinstate him on board the Essex was entirely out of the question; but I saw no obstacle to giving him command of the Georgiana to take to America; an arrangement which gave general satisfaction to every person, as I at the same time liberated him from arrest, and withdrew the charges I had intended to present against him. Fifthly, the period was fast approaching when the times of many of my crew were to expire. I was desirous of sounding them as to their views on the occasion, and, with this object, I permitted the crew of the Georgiana to be made up of those whose period of enlistment would expire next month; and I had the great satisfaction to observe but little desire on the part of any to return before the Essex. A crew, however, was made up for her, but composed by no means of the best of my men. Every arrangement being made, the Georgiana left us on the 25th July, giving us a salute and three cheers at her departure. We had an opportunity, by this vessel, of writing to our friends, and enjoyed in pleasing anticipation the effect that the news of our great success would produce in the United States.

      We had now got drifted as far to the westward as longitude 91° 15' W.; our latitude, at noon of the 25th, was 1° 8' 25."

N., the wind from the south, with a strong current ripple, which induced me to believe the current had shifted, gave me strong hopes of fetching the islands, and with this view I made all sail, but was soon compelled to heave to for the prizes, and particularly the New Zealander, which in a short time was run out of sight. The short sail I was compelled to keep under occasioned considerable delay, which, added to the current, which we still found setting to the west, prevented my making the land until the 27th, when we saw the north part of Narborough, bearing S.E. 1/2 E. Being considerably a-head of the prizes, I ran into Banks' bay, and on satisfying myself there were no vessels there, ran out to meet the prizes, and bore away in company with them for the north-east part of Albemarle, intending to proceed to James' island to make myself acquainted with its resources, and to search for English whalers, as it is said to be much frequented by them, for the purpose of taking in land tortoises and refitting their ships, the harbour having the reputation of being the best among the Gallapagos islands. At midnight the north head bore S. by W., and Rodondo W.N.W. At 7 o'clock on the morning of the 28th, discovered a strange sail to the eastward, and, on viewing her with my spy-glass from the top-gallant yard, she appeared to be close on a wind under her top-sails, with fresh breezes, while our ships were lying nearly becalmed, with a strong current setting us with great rapidity for Rodondo, which bore of us W. by S. A light air, however, springing up from the westward, we made all sail in chase; but the rapidity of the current was so great, that we soon lost sight of the stranger, and at meridian we were driven so close to Rodondo, that we entertained the most lively apprehensions for the safety of the ship; and even with the assistance of our drags, which were plied with their utmost power, and a smart breeze which fortunately sprung up at the most critical moment, it was with some considerable difficulty we escaped getting on shore on it; and as the sea was beating with great violence against its perpendicular and inaccessible sides, this apprehension was calculated to produce reflections of no very agreeable nature.

      As soon as the ship was out of danger, we began again to think of our chace; and as we were not in the habit of readily giving up a pursuit, while it was probable the chase was an enemy, our uncommon success having taught us to believe, that to see and to capture were one and the same thing. Although we had lost sight of her, we still felt confident it would only be for a short time, and that she owed it solely to her having a fresh breeze, while we were becalmed; an advantage we hoped to enjoy equally with her, so soon as we should be enabled to pass the N.E. point of Albemarle. I firmly believed that the stranger was a British whale-ship, and bound to James' Island, and every advantage was taken of the light airs which prevailed all that day and the next night, to endeavour again to get sight of her; and next morning, at half past 7 o'clock, she was discovered to the N.E. from the masthead, standing on a wind towards us, and across our bows. At half past 9 she was directly to windward of us, distant about 7 miles; and as she had discovered that we were a frigate, and no doubt had intelligence of our being in this quarter, she hoisted American colours, and made all sail from us. Every exertion was made to come up with her; she was evidently a whale-ship; and from every appearance I had no doubt of her being English. The winds became light, inclinable to calm; we made use of our drags, and found considerable advantage from the use of them; but, from the constant labour requisite to work them, our people became very much harassed, and finally worn out with fatigue. We had, however, by the greatest exertions, approached within four miles of the chace, and were enabled, by the assistance of our glasses, to see all his movements. He now got his boats ahead to tow his ship, with a view, as I supposed, of running her on shore on the Island of Abington, which was not far distant; and to prevent his effecting this object, I dispatched the gig and whale-boat, the first under command of lieut. M'Knight, the other under Mr. Bostwick, clerk, with a few good marksmen to drive them from their boats, but with the most positive orders to make no attempt on the ship. They soon succeeded in driving the boats alongside the ship, but found great difficulty in keeping out of the range of his shot, as he had mounted two guns on his forecastle, with which

he kept up a constant fire on our boats, having hauled down his American colours and hoisted English. At 4 o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th, both ships were perfectly becalmed, at the distance of 3 1/2 miles from each other, our two boats lying ahead of the enemy, and preventing his boats from towing; my crew so worn out with fatigue, as to be incapable of working the drags to any advantage; the enemy with English, and we with American colours flying. I considered him as already our own, and that the ceremony of taking possession was all that was now requisite. I could plainly perceive that his force did not exceed 10 guns and 30 men; and, as any alternative was preferable to working the drags any longer, I, to the great joy of every one on board, gave orders for attempting her with the boats, which were soon hoisted out, manned, and armed, and dispatched after her. The enemy, seeing so formidable a force coming against him, fired a few guns, apparently with a view of intimidating them, but finding that they continued to advance, he ceased firing and hauled down his colours. The boats had now got within three-quarters of a mile of her, when a fresh breeze sprung up from the eastward, with which she made all sail to the northward, hoisted her colours, fired at our gig and whale-boat as she passed, which in return gave her volleys of musketry, and before sunset she was hull down ahead of us, while we were lying the whole time perfectly becalmed. Our boats continued the chace, with the hope that it would again fall calm, and made flashes occasionally to guide me in the pursuit, which I was enabled to renew when the breeze struck me, which was not until after sundown. I came up with the boats at 9 o'clock at night; we had all lost sight of the enemy, and the apprehension of losing all my boats and officers, and the greater part of my crew, induced me to heave to and take them on board, which was soon done, when I renewed the pursuit on the same course I had before observed her standing, as I did not think it proper to run away before the wind, on the expectation of her having changed her course; as this would have caused a separation from the prizes, and the strong current setting to leeward would have prevented our rejoining them again for some time; I therefore concluded it best to continue my course on a wind all

night, but at day-light, seeing nothing of the enemy, I hove about to rejoin my prizes.

      At 12 o'clock next day, we were joined by the Greenwich and Seringapatam, but we saw nothing of the New Zealander until the day following. Nothing, perhaps, could equal our disappointment in not taking this vessel. We had already calculated with such confidence on her, as to arrange her prize crew, and were exulting that we had completely destroyed (with the exception of one vessel more) the British whale-fishery on the coast of Peru. We believed the vessel we were in pursuit of to be the British whale-ship Indispensable, and we knew of no other besides her on the coast, except the Comet, of 20 guns, fitted out both for whaling and cruizing against the Americans. Great, however, as our mortification was that he should make his escape after so long a chase, we consoled ourselves in some measure with the reflection, that this was the first enemy who had ever escaped us where we had known him to be such, and that his escape was owing only to a fortuitous circumstance, which might not happen again in a thousand chases, and not to any good management on his part, or bad management on ours; but yet, such is our nature, that we could not help blaming fortune for thus jilting us, and for this freak of hers forgot for a moment all the favours she had hitherto lavished on us.

      I now made every exertion to reach James' Island; but light and baffling winds, and a constant lee current, prevented our making any progress until the 3d of August, when the current changed, and ran with great rapidity to the eastward, as it had hitherto done in a contrary direction.

      On the 2d, being close under Abington, I had an opportunity of examining the west side of that island, and under a high and inaccessible precipice, opposite to a sandy beach, at the distance of three-quarters of a mile from the shore, found a good anchorage in 22 fathoms water, over a smooth sandy bottom, well sheltered from the prevailing winds by a point to the north-west of that, called by Colnet Cape Chalmers. This place, however, affords anchorage and shelter only; it is impossible to penetrate from thence into the island; but I have no doubt landing may be effect-

ed elsewhere; and, from the verdant appearance of the interior of the island, I should suppose that, like all the others, it affords tortoises. On the small beach opposite the anchorage, we found one turtle, and in the bay an abundance of fish were caught by the boat's crew. I attempted to ascend a small hill on the south point of the bay, and the only one that had the appearance of being accessible, for the purpose of taking a better view of the bay, in order to discover if there were any sunken rocks or other dangers, but I soon was compelled to desist, as the loose lava, ashes, and other volcanic substances, which were constantly giving way under me, rendered my ascent very difficult, and my descent dangerous. From thence I proceeded to the north part of the island, which wholly consists of hard black lava, totally destitute of vegetation, and apparently owes its existence to an eruption of no distant period. The whole of the west as well as the north part, we found to be inaccessible, and of the same dreary appearance. We shot here a number of seals, and, after loading our boats with fish, returned to the ship

      On the morning of the 4th, at 6 o'clock, we were between James' Island and Albemarle, beating up the passage, which is about eighteen miles wide, to reach the harbour, which was now in sight, when the New Zealander, which was far to leeward, made a signal for a strange sail to the eastward; but on chacing it proved to be a rock off the east part of James' Island. This prevented our getting into the bay until half past two, when we came to an anchor in six fathoms water, within a quarter of a mile of the middle of the beach, over a soft sandy bottom, and moored with our bower-anchor to the southward, and the stearn to the northward, the south-west part of Albany Island bearing north-west by north; Cape Marshall, on Albemarle, north-west; and the west point of the bay south-west by south. I caused the prizes to moor ahead and astern of the Essex, in a line along the shore, so close as to prevent an enemy from passing inside of us in case of attack, and directed their commanders to keep them constantly prepared for defence. I caused the pinnace and cutters to be hoisted out, rigged, and anchored in shore, to be in constant readiness for service, in the event of an enemy appearing off, and, after every arrangement was made that could suggest itself to me for the safety of the ships, as well for offensive as defensive operations, I commenced making those little repairs, which every ship requires, in a greater or less degree, on going into port, after being some time at sea. I also filled up my water from the New Zealander, took on board such provisions and stores as were requisite for us, and removed from the Seringapatam to that vessel all empty casks and other cumbrous articles, taking from her such provisions and stores as were not necessary for her, and might hereafter be wanted for us, and put them on board the Seringapatam. I also caused the Seringapatam to be painted exactly like the Essex, so that it would have been very difficult to have known

them apart at a short distance. I then changed entirely the appearance of the Essex, and gave to the Greenwich the appearance of a sloop of war, hoping at some future period to derive some advantage over the enemy by the deceptions I should be enabled to practise by means of those changes.

      It became necessary to take all our powder on shore, for the purpose of sunning and sifting it and I discovered, to my great regret, that nearly one-third of that contained in casks was damaged and unfit for use, in consequence of the water having entered the magazine, either during our passage around Cape Horn, or (which is more likely) while our rudder coat was in a damaged state, off the coast of Patagonia. We were, however, enabled to get a considerable quantity from the Seringapatam, which (although it left that ship nearly destitute) in a great measure supplied our deficiency.

      We here, after painting our ships, repairing our sails and boats, setting up our rigging, and doing various other jobs which could not be done conveniently at sea, began to lay in our stock of tortoises, the grand object for which every vessel anchors at the Gallapagos Islands. Four boats were dispatched every morning with this object, and returned at night, bringing with them from 20 to 30 each, averaging about 60 pounds; and in four days we had as many as would weigh about 14 tons on board, which was as much as we could conveniently stow. They were piled up on the quarterdeck for a few days, with an awning spread over (to shield them from the sun, which renders them very restless), in order that they might have time to discharge the contents of their stomachs, which is considerable; after which they were stowed away below, as you would stow any other provisions, and used as occasion required. No description of stock is so convenient for ships to take to sea with them as the tortoises of those islands; they require no provisions or water for a year, nor is any further attention to them necessary, than that their shells should be preserved unbroken.

      The shells of those of James' Island are sometimes remarkably thin and easily broken, but more particularly so as they become advanced in age; for then, whether owing to the injuries they receive from their repeated falls in ascending and descending the

mountains, or from injuries received otherwise, or from the course of nature, their shells become very rough, and peal off in large scales, which renders them very thin and easily broken. Those of James' Island appear to be a species entirely distinct from those of Hood's and Charles' Islands. The form of the shell of the latter is elongated, turning up forward, in the manner of a Spanish saddle, of a brown colour, and of considerable thickness; they are very disagreeable to the sight, but far superior to those of James' Island in point of fatness, and their livers are considered the greatest delicacy. Those of James' Island are round, plump, and black as ebony, some of them handsome to the eye; but their liver is black, hard when cooked, and the flesh altogether not so highly esteemed as the others.

      The most of those we took on board were found near a bay on the N.E. part of the island, about 18 miles from the ship, and among the whole only three were male, which may be easily known by their great size, and from the length of their tails, which are much longer than those of the females. As the females were found in low sandy bottoms, and all without exception were full of eggs, of which generally from 10 to 14 were hard, it is presumable that they come down from the mountains for the express purpose of laying; and this opinion seems strengthened from the circumstance of there being no male tortoises among them, the few we found having been taken a considerable distance up the mountains. One remarkable peculiarity in this animal is, that the blood is cold. I shall leave it to those better acquainted with natural history to investigate the cause of a circumstance so extraordinary; my business is to state facts, not to reason on them.

      The temperature of the air of the Gallapagos Islands varies from 72° to 75°; that of the blood of the tortoise is always 62°. After the most diligent search, no appearance of fresh water could be found in the neighbourhood of the place where the tortoises were taken, although some of the seamen searched to a considerable distance from the sea-shore; and yet each of these animals had in its stomach or reservoir from one to two gallons, of a taste by no means disagreeable, and such as thirst would readily induce any person to use; and from this circumstance, as well as from the

verdant appearance of the interior, I should be induced to believe, that this island furnishes springs of water in its mountains, but that they are soaked up by the loose and thirsty lava and cinders, of which it is chiefly composed, long before they can reach the sea. The eggs of the tortoise are perfectly round, white, and of 2² inches diameter; they are far from being a delicacy when cooked, as they are dry, tasteless, and the yolk is little better than saw-dust in the mouth.

      The sea and land guanas abound at this island; flamingoes and teal, of an excellent quality, may be killed in a salt lagoon, a few rods back of the beach opposite to where the ships lay; and the species of doves formerly mentioned may be killed with the greatest ease, and in any numbers, in every part of the island; they are fat and delicious; and the land guana is superior in excellence to the squirrel or rabbit. Fish were caught in considerable abundance, with our seine as well as with hooks and lines, along side the ship, and with our boats near the rocks; but we did not resort to the first-mentioned expedient through scarcity, but for the sake of procuring a greater variety, as we were thereby enabled to take mullet of a superior quality, and other fish that do not bite at a hook. The rock-fish did not here yield in abundance or excellence to any place we had yet been in; and among other delicacies we were enabled with ease to supply ourselves abundantly with cray-fish, at low water, among the rocks, where they were caught by hand.

      We found captain Colnet's chart of the island, as far as he surveyed it, sufficiently accurate for our purpose, but we neither found his delightful groves, his rivulets of water, nor his seats formed by the buccaniers of earth and stone, where we might repose ourselves after our fruitless search for them. Led by his description of the beauties of the island, I proceeded to the southwest part of it, as far as Watson's Creek, and on rounding the second point from the ship, I landed in a small cove, on a white beach, formed of small pieces of coral; this we found had been the principal landing-place of ships which have visited here for the purpose of procuring tortoises. The land here is level, and upon an extensive valley, which lies between two remarkable mount-

tains or craters of extinguished volcanoes, strongly resembling each other, you may proceed for about three miles without experiencing much inconvenience, except from the intense heat of the sun (from which there is nothing to screen you but a few withered dwarf-trees, destitute of leaves), and from occasionally falling into the holes made by the guanas in the loose cinders, heated by the sun's rays, as well as from occasionally encountering in your route, beds of sharp lava, about as agreeable to walk on as a hackle; and to those who are bare-footed, or whose shoes are not remarkably good, and provided with thick soles, this transition from hot to sharp and, from sharp to hot is equally desirable, for either of the evils is so great that they cannot be long borne at a time, and of the two it is difficult to say, which is the least. On my return to the beach, however, from my excursion, I discovered beauties that had before escaped my notice. A verdant mangrove, which had shot its branches into the sand, formed an arbour which afforded an agreeable shade; and after supplying ourselves with seats from the stones in the neighbourhood, Mr. Adams and myself made a hearty meal from the tortoises, crayfish, crabs, &c., which had been procured in the vicinity, for which our promenade in the delightful grove of captain Colnet had not a little contributed to prepare us to relish^*. We met with great numbers of English mocking-birds, hawks resembling the fal-

con, a considerable variety of smaller birds, some resembling the small common sparrow, some not unlike the brown Canary-bird, the small black bird found in Charles' Island, and a black bird with a red breast. We saw but few seals, and the only aquatic birds we met with, were pelicans, boobies, and petrells, A few small snakes were seen, much resembling the common American striped snake, and a great number of lizards. In the bottom of the crater of the northern mountain, near the foot of which we landed, some of my sailors (who had been there in search of tortoises) informed me that they had found one barrel of fresh water contained in the hollow of a rock. This is the only fresh water we found on any part of the island, and it cannot be come at without the greatest difficulty and danger, which none would attempt to overcome but such as, like our sailors, had long been confined on shipboard; for, feeling all restraint removed while on shore, they delighted in making an extensive range, and in overcoming difficulties which to others seemed insurmountable. From this place we procured about seventy-five tortoises; but as the men had to bring them from a distance not less than three miles, and as the fatigue was excessive, this was the only time we visited it, as the parties which went to the north-east part of the island were more successful, and gave a more favourable account of the facility of getting them down to the beach. They reported also, that there was every appearance of good anchorage on the north-east, in a bay not inferior in its appearance to the one we were then occupying. Mr. Adams, with his usual zeal, proceeded to sound and survey it, and reported anchorage about half a mile from the shore, in 13 fathoms, sandy bottom. This bay was distant from where we lay about 18 miles I gave it the name of Adams' Bay.

      I proceeded to examine Fresh-water bay, and Fresh-water valley, as they are called by Colnet; in the former there are appearances of anchorage. We found great quantities of broken jars, such as the Spaniards transport their liquids in; a deep ravine, evidently formed by violent torrents; but it was perfectly dry, and had the appearance of having long been so. Three separate times I examined Fresh-water valley, when we first arrived, and

twice after showers of rain; but all my researches were ineffectual, although I traced the ravine of this place to the top of the mountain. While I was about embarking, I perceived three or four small birds, of the size of a sparrow, fluttering about a moist place, on the side of a cliff, over my head; and on further observation I perceived that the small birds of this description constantly resorted here for the purpose of sucking the moisture from the rock; and, by a closer examination, I discovered that beneath this place a small and rude basin had been formed in the rock, for the purpose of catching the drops of water, which perhaps at certain seasons of the year trickle down the side of the cliff. At the time I visited the place, the basin was perfectly dry; and I should not have known the purpose for which it was intended had not I noticed the marks of a pick-axe, or some other iron instrument, in the rock. Of these places captain Colnet, in his view of James' island, gives the following description;

      "Round the north-west point is a small bay, which I take for the one the buccaniers call Fresh-water bay, in which were many of their traces such as old jars, &c.; also ground cleared away, either as a platform for guns or to land stores, &c.; but the water since then has taken a different course, and falls down between two hills, and runs over a little clift of rocks into the sea."

      "As soon as the ship was secured, I set out with Mr. Sharp to search for water in Fresh-water bay, where the buccaniers, had formerly supplied themselves, but the surf prevented us from landing. We rowed close to the beach, but saw not the least signs of any spring or rivulet. Boats were dispatched from both vessels to different parts of the shore, and my chief mate was sent away to the south for a night and a day. On the following morning, at the dawn of day, the whaling-master was ordered to land if the surf was fallen, and search Fresh-water bay. He accomplished getting on shore, but found no water; in the evening the chief mate returned with the same account of his unsuccessful errand. For my own part, I never gave up my opinion, that there was plenty of fresh water in the isle; but as neither of my boats were in a condition to encounter the least bad weather.

      I deferred taking a survey of the isle till they were repaired." Colnet's Journal, page 153.

      "These isles deserve the attention of the British navigators beyond any unsettled situation: but the preference must be given to James' isle, as it is the only one we found sufficient fresh water as to supply a small ship." Colnet's Journal, page 158.

      It seems from captain Colnet's account, that his principal motive for going to James' island was to accompany an English ship called the Butterworth, commanded by a Mr. Sharp, whom he accidentally met off Banks' bay in distress for want of water; and that he persuaded Mr. Sharp to proceed to this place, where he was confident he would procure a supply; but as he did not find it immediately on his arrival, he sent the Butterworth daily supplies of that article, which produced a consequence captain Colnet little apprehended, for from that moment Mr. Sharp neglected to look for water. Captain Colnet, it seems, from civility to the owners of that ship, had determined to keep company with her during the voyage, and to give her only a monthly supply; and this information, it appears, stimulated Mr: Sharp to search for water, which he found within two miles of his ship. Now it seems extraordinary that the place where so important a discovery was made, should not have been pointed out by captain Colnet. I have, however, reason to doubt the correctness of his statement, as I have carefully examined James' island for fresh water, and so have many others of my officers and crew, for at least 12 miles to the southward of our anchorage, and as much as 6 miles to the northward; indeed several have searched to the north-east 18 or 20 miles, and none of us yet have been able to discover any of that precious article, except the small damp place on the cliff at Fresh-water valley, and the small quantity in the bottom of the crater of the aforementioned mountain. It is true, he might have arrived there after a long spell of rainy weather; but it seems it was in the latter part of April he arrived there, after cruizing some time among the islands for whales; and if he had experienced so extraordinary a thing as heavy rains among the Gallapagos, I think he would have noticed it in some part of his journal. There can be no doubt, that, at some former period, small quan-

tities of water have been procured from the place called Freshwater valley; and indeed the old captains of some of the captured ships have informed me, that they have, by great care, obtained from 10 to 12 gallons in 24 hours, and this is the most they have ever known to have been procured; and it rarely happens that this much can be gotten; then, when so inconsiderable a quantity can be obtained, how could captain Colnet so far impose on the world, as to hold out encouragement for vessels to stop there for water^*?

      That the island affords water in the interior, there cannot be a doubt; but this can only be of service to the tortoises, whose patience and perseverance enable, and whose instinct teaches them to find it. But it certainly cannot be supposed, after what captain Colnet has said of Fresh-water Bay and Fresh-water valley, that it was from either of those places that the Butterworth procured her supply, for it seems that an unsuccessful search was made there by captains Colnet and Sharp on the first arrival of the ships: they could not land on account of the surf; they rowed close to the beach, but saw not the least sign of any spring or rivulet. Boats were sent in different directions, and the mate and whaling-master of captain Colnet's ship were ordered on the search, but without success. Captain Colnet proceeded also himself on the search, and was equally unsuccessful with the rest; yet the captain of the Butterworth found it within two miles of his ship, and we are not informed in what direction! Where is the advantage of James' Island furnishing fresh water "sufficient to supply a small ship," if we are ignorant where it is to be found? Surely captain Colnet could not have been ignorant of the importance of this information, and, as he has not given it, I must take the liberty of doubting the correctness of his statement, page 153 of his journal^*. However, he has committed so many errors in his description of this island, as well as in the chart he has drawn of the whole groupe, that in their multiplicity this single one might be passed over in silence, were it not for the deplorable consequences that might result to a whole ship's company, who, when short of wa-

ter, should (relying on Colnet's statement) put into James' Island for a supply. To prevent the ill effects of information so calculated to mislead, I felt it my duty to point out the inaccuracy of the statement; and if it is true that the captain of the Butterworth obtained the supply of water mentioned, it was more the duty of captain Colnet to have particularized the spot, considering the object for which (as he informs us) he was sent into this sea.

      I have now the painful task of mentioning an occurrence which gave me the utmost pain, as it was attended by the premature death of a promising young officer, whereby the service at this time has received an irreparable injury, and by a practice which disgraces human nature. I shall, however, throw a veil over the whole previous proceedings, and merely state, that without my knowledge they met on shore, at day-light, and at the third fire Mr. Cowan fell dead. His remains were buried the same day in he spot where he fell, and the following inscription was placed over his tomb;

      Having entirely changed the appearance of the ship, so that she could not be known from description, or taken for a frigate at a short distance; having made all the repairs which our sails, rigging, boats, &c. required, made a new main top-sail, a considerable quantity of cordage from old rope, and supplied ourselves with such articles as we required from the prizes, as well as broken up our hold, cleansed and re-stowed it, scrubbed our bottom,

on which considerable quantities of grass and barnacles had collected, and supplied ourselves abundantly with such refreshments as the island afforded, we, on the morning of the 20th August, got under way; but, prior to my leaving the place, I buried a letter for lieut. Downes, in a bottle at the head of Mr. Cowan's grave, and a duplicate of the same at the foot of a finger-post, erected by me, for the purpose of pointing out to such as may hereafter visit the island the grave of Mr. Cowan; and, with a design of misleading the enemy, I left in a bottle suspended at the finger-post, the following note;

      The United States frigate Essex arrived here on the 21st July, 1813, her crew much afflicted with the scurvy and ship-fever, which attacked them suddenly, out of which she lost the 1st lieut. surgeon, sailing-master, two midshipmen, gunner, carpenter, and 36 seamen and marines.

      She captured in this sea the following British ships, to wit: Montezuma, Policy, Atlantic, Catharine, Rose, Hector, Charlton, Georgiana, Greenwich, Seringapatam, and New Zealander; but, for want of officers and men to man them, the four last were burnt; the Rose and Charlton were given up to the prisoners.

      The Essex leaves this in a leaky state, her foremast very rotten in the partners, and her mainmast sprung. Her crew have, however, received great benefit from the tortoises and other refreshments which the island affords. Should any American vessel, or indeed a vessel of any nation, put in here, and meet with this note, they would be doing an act of great humanity to transmit a copy of it to America, in order that our friends may know of our distressed and hopeless situation, and be prepared for worse tidings, if they should ever again hear from us.

      The British prisoners have been landed at Tumbez, sent to St. Helena and Rio de Janeiro.

      The following is a list of the names of those who died as above mentioned, to wit.

      (Then followed a list of 43 names.)

      While we lay at the bay in James' Island (which I called Cowan's Bay), we put our goats on shore to graze, keeping a person to attend them through the day and give them water; and as they

were all very tame, and kept about the landing-place, we every night left them on shore. There was one young male, and three females, one of which was of the Welch breed, and was with young by a Peruvian ram with five horns, which we had taken in one of our prizes; the rest were of the Spanish breed. The sheep was also left on shore with them; but one morning, after they had been there several days and nights, the person who attended them went on shore, as usual, to give them their water; but no goats were to be found; they had all, as with one accord, disappeared. Several persons were sent in different directions, for two or three days, to search for them, but without success: they undoubtedly took to the mountains in the interior, where unerring instinct led them to the springs or reservoirs from whence the tortoises obtain their supply; and owing to this circumstance, future navigators may perhaps obtain here an abundant supply of goat's meat, for, unmolested as they will be in the interior of this island, to which they will no doubt confine themselves on account of the water, it is probable their increase will be very rapid; and perhaps nature, whose ways are mysterious, has embraced this first opportunity of inhabiting this island with a race of animals, who are, from their nature, almost as well enabled to withstand the want of water as the tortoises with which it now abounds; and perhaps she has so ordained it, that the breed which shall be produced between the Welch goat and the Peruvian ram shall be better adapted to the climate than any other.

      I shall leave others to account for the manner in which all those islands obtained their supply of tortoises and guanas, and other animals of the reptile kind; it is not my business even to conjecture as to the cause. I shall merely state, that those islands have every appearance of being newly created, and that those perhaps are the only part of the animal creation that could subsist on them, Charles' and James' being the only ones where I have yet been enabled to find, or been led to believe could be found, sufficient moisture even for goats. Time, no doubt, will order it otherwise; and many centuries hence may see the Gallapagos as thickly inhabited by the human species as any other part of the world. At present, they are only fit for tortoises, guanas, lizards,

snakes, &c. Nature has created them elsewhere, and why could she not do it as well at those islands?

      There was one fact, which was noticed by myself and many others, the day preceding the departure of the goats, and must lead us to believe that something more than chance directed their movements. It was observed that they all drank an unusual quantity of water; the old Welch goat particularly did not seem satisfied until she had drunk upwards of half a gallon (which for a goat, it must be admitted, is an extraordinary quantity), and the others a quantity not far short of it, which seems as though they had determined to provide themselves with a supply to enable them to reach the mountains; and this fact, which (if we take into consideration the extraordinary sagacity of the goat) bears something the appearance of the marvellous, I do aver to be as strictly true as any other I have stated, and in no one instance have I exaggerated or gone beyond the bounds of strict veracity.

      I now made the best of my way for Banks' Bay in company with my prizes, and, fixed on the small cove inside of Narborough as a rendezvous for them in case of separation, as it now was my design to leave them there until I made a short cruise among the islands, in order to make myself acquainted with all their resources, and with the hope of falling in with some of the enemy's vessels. I had also the design of leaving instructions for lieutenant Downes at Charles' and Hood's Islands, similar to those left at James', that, in case he should fail in finding my letters in one place, there might be a chance of his finding them in another, and thus our meeting be rendered more certain.

      On the 22d I reached Banks' Bay, and directed the prizes to proceed into the cove, with the following orders, which will sufficiently explain the arrangements made, as well as my future designs; after which I stood out of the bay

of the Greenwich will be kept complete, for the protection of the other vessels, and, in the event of being attacked, you will call on the other prize-masters and their men to assist on board your ship; but it is expected you will only act on the defensive. Should I not appear in six weeks from the time of my leaving this, you will proceed for Valparaiso, in company with the Seringapatam, after the articles of value are taken from the New Zealander, and that ship is burnt. If, however, lieutenant Downes should appear before the expiration of six weeks from the time of my leaving this, you will please to deliver him the enclosed letter, which contains instructions for the guidance of his conduct respecting the disposal of the prizes.

      I must recommend your keeping constantly on your guard, with a look-out from a suitable point. Let the ships be ready for sea on the shortest notice, and suffer no guns to be fired, no fires at night, or any other practices by which you may be discovered.

      Should I appear off with an English red ensign, hoisted union down, at the fore, you will send a boat on board the Essex. If the same signal is made at the main, it will be for the Seringapatam and New Zealander to send their boats for their crews, and you will please to furnish them assistance for the purpose, if necessary. Should you leave the cove before I arrive, you will bury a bottle, containing a letter, in some suitable spot, near the landing-place at the head of the cove, and cut in the rocks immediately over it the letters S. X., in order that I may be enabled to find it.

      I need not inform you how important it is that the prizes should not fall into the hands of an enemy. Your situation will render their destruction (in the last extremity) very easy. I would recommend to you to have as many boats, as may be necessary for the escape of their crews, in constant readiness for service, and a sufficiency of provisions and water, &c. &c. provided for them at the shortest notice; and, in the event of the necessity of taking to to [sic] them, I would advise your proceeding to Charles' Island, as the most likely place of meeting with the Essex Junior, or Essex; and, in case you should not fall in with either, it appears the

most likely place for you to take by surprize some British vessel

      On the 24th, I stretched in toward the cove, to meet the boats, which I expected off with the crews of the Seringapatam and New Zealander, and at one o'clock discovered them on a sand beach on Narborough, where they had landed to await our coming in; and about an hour afterwards, they came on board, with 21 men from the two ships. We had now got to the entrance of the passage between Narborough and Albemarle. A steady breeze from the N.W. and a current setting from the same quarter, as well as a desire of looking into the cove, to see in what order the prizes had been secured, altogether tempted me to endeavour to go through the passage, in which I could perceive no danger whatever, nor had I ever heard of the existence of any, except what arose from the violence of the current, and a reef off the S.E. part of Narborough. Accordingly all sail was made; but, contrary to my expectations, the wind died away at sunset, and shifted ahead, leaving us nearly becalmed until after dark, when a brisk breeze sprang up from the S.W., with which, after great anxiety and uneasiness on my part, we succeeded in beating through; but this anxiety was unnecessary, as the passage is as safe as any other that is liable to sudden shifts of wind and rapid currents. Soundings were obtained in mid channel with 80 fathoms of line, coarse gravelly bottom. There appears no dangers lying any distance from the shores of either side, with the exception of the aforesaid reef, which we got sight of before night, and does not extend more than a mile and a half from the shore. On the beaches of the Albemarle side, we saw vast numbers of turtle, and seals kept playing around us during the whole passage, or it may more properly be called a sound.

      I had here an opportunity of seeing in what manner the seals are enabled to devour their prey when in the water, which had hitherto been a mystery to me, not having feet to assist them in

tearing to pieces the large fish they frequently take. One ran near the ship with a large red fish, of the snapper kind, in his mouth; this fish was still alive, and made considerable struggle; the seal reared himself out of the water as far as his breast; then throwing his head around on one shoulder, appeared to rally all his strength, and jerking it with great violence to the other, throwing the fish at a great distance from him, tearing off with the jerk a mouthful, which he greedily swallowed, and, by repeating this action, in a few minutes devoured the whole fish, which, from its size, I should suppose weighed at least ten pounds: and it was in vain that the man-of-war hawks, boobies, pelicans, and other birds which hovered over him, endeavoured to seize on his prey; his activity baffled all their attempts, and prevented them even from picking up the scraps which frequently flew off from the fish as he threw it from him.

      After getting clear of the sound, I stood out of the bay, and at 12 o'clock at night was off the south head of Albemarle; there I continued beating to get to windward until the 29th, without gaining much ground, on account of the prevalence of a rapid current setting to the westward. At length, however, the wind hauled to the southward, and enabled us to make Charles' island on the 31st, where I sent my boat on shore, with a letter for lieutenant Downes, similar to that left at James' island. On her return, I was informed that every thing remained as I had left it, there being no appearance of strangers having been there since my departure. We had had several showers of rain while in the neighbourhood of the isle, and, from the heavy clouds hanging over it, I had hoped to obtain there a supply, and gave directions that our former watering-places should be examined, but was informed that they were entirely dried up, not a drop of water remaining in the places where we had formerly obtained it. I now made sail for Chatham island, running along to windward of Barrington island, which appears bold and free from danger. Towards sunset, the man on the look-out cried out, a sail to the N.W.! All sail was made in chace, but in a short time we discovered from the mast-head, by our glasses, that it was one of two rocks that lie off the north end of Porter's island, which we

have called Bainbridge's Rocks. At night the weather became thick and hazy; and at 10 o'clock, supposing myself nearly up with Chatham island, I hove to, with the ship's head to the S.W.; and in the morning the Kicker Rock, which lies off the mouth of Stephen's bay, bearing E.N.E., distant about 10 miles, I made sail for it, and at 9 A.M. anchored in Stephen's bay, in 12 fathoms water, sandy bottom, the Kicker Rock bearing W. 1/2 N., Dalrymple Rock S.W. by S., the west point of the bay S.W. 1/2 S., and the north point N.N.E. In running in, we passed to the north of the Kicker Rock, at the distance of two cables' length, and obtained no bottom with thirty fathoms of line.

      This rock is very remarkable in its appearance, and is the surest mark for finding the bay. It is very high, flat on the top, and from some points bears strongly the appearance of a castle. On the western side the rock is split from the summit to the base, and the part detached stands like an obelisk on a very narrow base, and from its slender appearance seems as if ready to tumble down at every breeze. The bay is capacious, and well sheltered from the prevailing winds; there is good landing on several small white sandy beaches; and to the N.W. of our anchorage is a small cove, which would afford good shelter for vessels not drawing more than 10 feet water. We found here sea turtle in the greatest abundance, and of a most excellent quality, of which we took on board as many as we could stow away, some of them weighing upwards of 300 weight. They were found always at low water, lying on the small sandy beaches, below the rocks. We killed also a number of seals, the skins of which were very serviceable to us as mockasons, made after the manner of those of the North American Indians, and were a very good substitute for shoes, of which we began to stand in need. Our seamen converted them into caps, hats, and various other articles of use to them. We obtained here a large quantity of prickly pears, of a size far exceeding any I had hitherto met with; they were found on low trees, growing among the hard beds of lava which skirt the bay, and were gathered in quantities more than sufficient for the supply of the whole ship's company, some of them of the size of an orange, and nearly equal to that fruit

in excellence. Their juice, when stewed with sugar, made a delicious sirrup, while their skins afford a most excellent preserve, with which we made pies, tarts, &c. We saw, in some small lagoons at the back of the beaches, teal and plover; but as I had forbid the use of fire-arms, in consequence of the scarcity of powder, we did not obtain any of them. Cray and other fish were found here in abundance, but we were not enabled to procure any tortoises, though there can scarcely be a doubt that an abundance of them are to be found on other parts of the island.

      The vegetation on that part forming the bay, was entirely burnt up, and, with the exception of the prickly pear-trees, there was no verdure whatever for the support of animal life; and they were so situated among the sharp beds of lava, it would be impossible for the tortoises to approach them. We saw a few of their shells and bones; but they appeared to have been long dead. We were not enabled to make any progress into the interior of the island, on account of the great difficulty of walking, nor would I permit the boats in their search to go beyond the points of the bay, as I wished to be always prepared for getting under way at a moment's warning, and wished them to be within signal-distance; and indeed the great stock of tortoises we brought from James' Island, and the supply of turtle we had here obtained, left no room for adding to our stock, if we had found them. We saw here none of the land-guanas; and the only animals of the reptile kind we met with were a few lizards. Land-birds were very scarce; boobies, pelicans, and man-of-war hawks were in abundance.

      This island, like all the rest, is of volcanic origin, but the ravages appear less recent here than at most of the others. Its vegetable productions are the same, with the exception of the cotton-tree, of which I saw no vestige; but, owing to the extreme drought, it may have perished in this part, and perhaps exists in the interior, where there is some appearance of verdure. At James' as well as at Charles' island, the cotton-tree grows very luxuriantly, most of the trees being from eight to ten feet high, and appears to be of the same kind as that produced on the Mississippi; but, for want of culture, the pods do not produce in such large quantities, nor is the cotton equal in quality; attention to its

cultivation would, no doubt, greatly improve it. The soil of these islands, although dry and parched up, seems rich and productive; and, were it not for the want of streams of fresh water, they might be rendered of great importance to any commercial nation that would establish a colony on them. They afford good harbours, are situated in the finest climate under heaven, are in the neighbourhood of the best fishing-ground for the spermaceti whales, and afford a rich supply of fresh provisions, in the land-tortoises and other animals with which they abound. Nothing is wanting but water; and I am still of opinion that may be found. A fine spring was discovered in Charles' Island, not far from the seacoast, in a place by no means promising in its appearance; and I think, by a strict search, an abundance may be found. We have seen, from what Pat has effected, that potatoes, pumpkins, &c., may be raised, and of a superior quality, and with proper industry the state of these islands might be much improved.

      Chatham Island differs little in its appearance from all the rest: the land in the interior is high, thrown up in irregular hills by the operations of volcanoes, and the sea-coast bounded by loose flakes of lava. On the north side of the bay is a high bluff, where Colnet states that he found a rill of fresh water. I gave it the most careful examination, and could not find the smallest quantity. The rise and fall of the tide here is about eight feet.

      After scrubbing our ship, we on the 3d of September left Chatham Island, and stood over for Hood's Island, where we anchored on the 7th, in a bay on the north side, formed by a small island _and some islets on the east. Previous to going in with the ship, I sent lieutenant Wilmer in, with directions to place a buoy in the most suitable anchorage; and, as the wind was directly out of the bay, I beat up for the buoy, making short tacks. We got twenty-five fathoms about two miles from the shore, clean sandy bottom, and anchored in nineteen fathoms, one mile and a half from a white sandy beach in the bottom of the bay, near the middle of which is a remarkable black rock, lying about forty yards from the shore, between which and the shore is a passage for vessels of a light draft of water

      This bay I called Rodgers' Bay, and the island forming it Rodgers' Island, in honour of commodore Rodgers. The best anchorage is about the middle of the bay, in twelve fathoms water, where you lie well in the bank, where there is little or no danger of drifting off. We lay too far out, and on the edge of the bank, where it was very steep; our anchor, as I before observed, lay in nineteen fathoms, while our stern lay in twenty-seven; we were moored with our ridge to the westward, the northwest point of the bay bearing west by south; the north-west point of Rodgers' island east-north-east; the south point east by south 3/4 south; the west point of the south part of Chatham Island, north; the east point north by east 3/4 east; Barrington Island north-west by west; and Charles' Island west-south-west. The wind, during the day, generally blew from the south-east, but at night it was calm; the tides set east-north-east and north-north-west, along the land, and the rise and fall was about ten feet.

      We here procured an abundance of fish alongside with the hook and line, but were not enabled to procure more than fifty tortoises, and they small, but of a quality far superior to those found on James' Island; they were similar in appearance to those of Charles' Island, very fat and delicious. The vegetable productions were nearly the same as those of the other islands, and the island is evidently of volcanic origin, but it appears to have been a long time since it has suffered from their ravages. Few birds were found on this island, and they of the same description as those found on the others. We found a few lizards, but no snakes or guanas. We killed a few seals, and saw a number of turtle, but caught none; and on the most diligent search could find no fresh water. Wood is scarce, and what is to be found is very small and withered; and the whole island, and every thing on it, appears parched up and famished for the want of rain.

      We lay here until the 8th September, in hopes of the arrival of lieutenant Downes, or the appearance of some stranger, as this is the island which all whale-ships endeavour to make, running down for Albemarle between it and Chatham Island. On the 8th I prepared to weigh, but, previous to quitting the bay, sent on shore a letter for lieutenant Downes, similar to those left at

Charles' and James', and buried it in a bottle at the back of the sand beach, at the foot of a post, on which was nailed a board, with the following inscription, S. X. Anno Dom. 1813.

      And now having accomplished the main object for which I had come to this island, I determined to cruize a few days to windward of it, with the hopes of falling in with him there; and I was the more strongly induced to do this, as I had for some time past been extremely harassed by being so much among those islands, our knowledge of which was as yet by no means perfect, and the rapid and irregular currents kept me in a constant state of anxiety), from which I was glad to be relieved for a short time. A fresh breeze springing up from the southward, which caused us to drift off the bank, I weighed the anchor, and stood on a wind to the eastward, keeping the island in sight from the deck, bearing west. Here I remained until the 13th September, when I ran down for Charles' Island, looking into Hood's Island, and searching for M'Gowen's Reef in my route, and can now with safety declare, that M'Gowen's Reef does not exist but in the chart of captain Colnet.

      Off the N.W. part of Hood's Island, about two and a half miles from the shore, is a reef of some extent. It should be avoided. This is the only danger I could discover, and that lies so close in, and breaks with so much violence, that it may at all times be discovered in time to shun it. This, however, is not M'Gowen's Reef, which by Colnet'a chart lies nearly half way between Hood's and Barrington Islands, and in the direct passage of vessels running down between Hood's and Chatham for Charles' Island; whereas the one I speak of lies close under Hood's Island, and is joined to it by other rocks.

      I looked into Charles' Island, and stood down for Cape Essex, intending to cruize for a few days off the south part of Albemarle, and at midnight of the 14th, hove to, the southern part of Albemarle bearing north, distant 9 or 10 leagues. At day-light in the morning, the men at the mast-head descried a strange sail to the southward. On going aloft with my glass, I could perceive that she was a ship, and under very easy sail, apparently lying to; and as she was directly to windward of us, I did not wish to alarm them

by making much sail as I believed her to be an English whaler. I consequently directed the fore and main royal-yards to be sent down, and the masts to be housed, the ports to be shut in, and the ship to be disguised in every respect as a merchantman, and kept plying to windward for the stranger under easy sail, as he continued to lie to, and drifted down on us very fast. At meridian, we were sufficiently near to ascertain that she was a whale-ship, and then employed in cutting in whales; and from her general appearance, some were of opinion that it was the same ship that had given us so long a chase, and put us to so much trouble near Abington Island; she was, however, painted very differently, and from her showing no appearance of alarm, I had my doubts on the subject. I had got possession of some of the whalemen's signals, and made to her one which had been agreed on between a captain Wm. Porter and the captain of the New Zealander, in case they should meet. I did not know but this might be captain Porter's ship, and that the signal might be the means of shortening the chase, by inducing him to come down to us.

      At 1 o'clock we were at the distance of 4 miles from the chace, when she cast off from the whales she had alongside, and made all sail from us. Every thing was now set to the best advantage on board the Essex, and at 4 o'clock we were within gun shot; when, after firing 6 or 8 shot at her, she bore down under our lee, and struck her colours. She proved to be the British letter of marque ship, Sir Andrew Hammond, pierced for 20 guns, commissioned for 16, but had only 12 mounted, with a complement of 36 men, and commanded by the identical captain Porter whose signal I had hoisted; but the most agreeable circumstance of the whole was, that this was the same ship we had formerly chaced; and the captain assured me, that our ship had been so strangely altered, that he supposed her to be a whale-ship until we were within 3 or 4 miles of him, and it was too late to escape; nor did he suppose her to be a frigate until we were within gun shot, and indeed never should have supposed her to be the same ship that had chaced him before, as she did not now appear above one half the size she did formerly.

      The decks of this ship were full of the blubber of the whales

they had cut in, but had not time to try out. The captain infmored [sic] me there was as much as would make from 80 to 90 barrels, and that it would require three days to try it out; but as I understood that it would be worth between two and three thousand dollars, I determined that it should not be lost. I therefore put on board her a crew who had been accustomed to the whaling business, and placed the ship in the charge of Mr. Adams, the chaplain, with directions to try out and stow away the oil with all possible expedition; but that he might do it more conveniently, I directed him to bear up for the harbour where the other prizes lay, (which I have called Port Rendezvous,) and there I intended to run with the Essex; but the wind growing light, and having a strong current against me, I was not enabled to get abreast the harbour until 10 o'clock at night; and not conceiving it prudent to run in, I stood through the sound into Banks' Bay; and this I was the more strongly induced to do, as lieut. Gamble had come off in his boat to the Essex, and informed me that the look-out had reported that he had heard several guns to the northward the day before; and that, since my departure, a ship had appeared in Banks' Bay at three different times; but on comparing the dates of her appearance with the log-book of the Sir Andrew Hammond, it proved to be her. The guns I could not so well account for, nor could I for the appearance of a fresh whale carcase that had lately came into the bay; I therefore took a look in the offing, but, perceiving no vessels, I beat up for Port Rendezvous against a fresh land breeze, and anchored there in fifteen fathoms water, a little outside of all the prizes, being one and a half cable's length distant from each side of the harbour, and two and a half or three cables' length' from the bottom of the port. I here moored head and stern, and lay perfectly secure from all winds. The officers and crews of the prizes, as may naturally be supposed, were greatly rejoiced to see me, as they were heartily tired of being confined to this most desolate and dreary place, where the only sounds to be heard were the screaching of the sea-fowls, and the melancholy howlings of the seals. Their rest was much disturbed the few first nights of their arrival there, but after that the seals abandoned their haunts; and even their absence was regretted, as their noise, disagreeable

as it was, served to break in upon that irksome monotony, which, for the want of occupation and amusement, became to them insupportable.

      The time was now arriving for me to expect lieutenant Downes; I therefore determined to fill up my water and provisions from my prizes, and wait until the 2d day of next month, which was the period fixed for our departure. I had determined, should he not arrive in that time, to leave letters for him, and proceed to either the Marquesas or Washington Islands, where I intended to clean my ship's bottom, overhaul her rigging, and smoke her to kill the rats, as they had increased so fast as to become a most dreadful annoyance to us, by destroying our provisions, eating through our water-casks, thereby occasioning a great waste of our water, getting into the magazine and destroying our cartridges, eating their way through every part of the ship, and, occasioning considerable destruction of our provisions, clothing, flags, sails &c. &c. It had become dangerous to have them any longer on board; and as it would become necessary to remove every thing from the ship before smoking her, and probably be necessary to heave her out to repair her copper, which in many places was coming off, I believed that a convenient harbour could be found among one of the groups of islands that would answer our purpose, as well as furnish the crew with such fresh provisions and vegetables as might be necessary during our stay there, and thus be enabled to save our salt provisions.

      The Sir Andrew Hammond having an abundant supply, I hauled her alongside, and took from her as much beef, pork, bread, water, wood and other stores, as we required; and what was more acceptable to our men than all the rest, I took from her two puncheons of choice Jamaica spirits, which was greatly relished by them, as they had been without any ever since our departure from Tumbez; and whether it was the great strength of the rum, or the length of time they had been without, I cannot say; but our seamen were so much affected by the first allowance served out to them, that many were taken to their hammocks perfectly drunk; and indeed there was scarcely a seaman in the ship but what was in some degree intoxicated. To prevent a recur-

rence of a similar scene, I caused it to be considerably diluted, before it was again served out; this, however, did not prevent some from getting intoxicated, as the rum was such a rarity to them, and so far superior to what they had ever been accustomed to drink, that an allowance of it would command almost any price; and as several found the ways and means to make their purchases, drunkenness could not be effectually stopped, as I did not conceive it expedient to resort to rigid measures; for, considering the long time they had been deprived of it without murmuring, and the great propensity of seamen for spiritous liquors, and as no evil was likely to result from a little inebriety, provided they conducted themselves in other respects with propriety, I felt disposed to give them a little latitude, which in no instance was productive of unpleasant consequences, except one. James Rynard, a quarter-master, had belonged to the Essex four years, and had at times endeavoured to render himself of importance among his ship-mates, by placing himself at the head of all parties formed for the purpose of obtaining redress of grievances. At all complaints of short allowance of rum or provisions, or if any provisions were supposed to have been of a bad quality, Rynard was always engaged stirring up others to complain, but took care to conduct himself in such a manner as to let it be supposed, by the officers, that he was perfectly contented; nor did he dare, except at one time, to come forward boldly, and that was at the reduction of the allowance of rum on the coast of Brazils. He then supposed all hands to be of his disposition, and placed himself as spokesman at their head. I had always marked him as a villain; that was his character with all that knew him; and at this moment, and with such a crew as, I had reason to believe that Rynard might, from his habitual villany and restlessness, be induced to stir up discontent among them. It must be remembered, that their times had mostly expired; they saw no appearance of any intention on my part of returning to America immediately; and at such a moment the secret villany of Rynard was not to be despised. He had ever endeavoured to distinguish himself as their champion; and although I believed that he was considered by every man in the ship a notorious villain, still I did not knew

how far his influence might extend. I had, therefore, long determined to get clear of him on the first favourable opportunity. One was not long in offering itself. I had directed him to proceed to superintend some duty on board one of the prizes; he appeared, a short time after I gave him the order, somewhat intoxicated, and insolently told me he had not been sent from the ship in a proper manner. Finding him not in a proper state, I directed him to stay aft on the quarter-deck until he was sober. He attempted, however, shortly afterwards, to rush by me. His dinner was taken on deck to him by his messmates; this he threw overboard in the presence of the officer of the deck, and at the same time demanded permission to go below; and while the officer of the watch was reporting to me his conduct, he left the deck. I then caused him to be confined there in irons, and, as he had dropped some expressions respecting his time being out, and treated with derison (more by his actions than by his words) his confinement, I determined at once to discharge him. I therefore directed the purser to make out his accounts, and discharge and sent him on board the Seringapatam, until we should arrive at some place where he could be put on shore. The discharge of Rynard produced an effect I little expected; it rendered every man in the ship sober, attentive, and active in the discharge of his duty, and assiduous to please; and those who, in the rum affair, had shown themselves more forward than the rest, now appeared desirous, by their good behaviour, to do away any unfavourable impression that their conduct might at that time have produced.

      The officer having charge of the New Zealander informed me, that his ship required caulking in every part; I consequently set my carpenters at work on her, and in the mean time the Sir Andrew Hammond was painted and otherwise put in order. The crews of the prizes were again sent to them, and on the 28th, we completed all our work; each ship had provided a stock of turtle, and we had nothing now to detain us but the expected arrival of the Essex Junior. We had, ever since our arrival, kept men constantly on the look-out from the top of the hill forming the north side of the port, which commanded a view of both bays;

there we had a flag-staff erected, and suitable signals established, to which point the attention of every one was now turned; and on the meridian of the 30th, a signal was made for a ship in the south bay, and shortly after another was hoisted for a boat standing in for the harbour. A fresh breeze springing up, she soon rounded the S.E. point of Narborough, and from her general appearance all believed it to be the Essex Junior, which opinion was soon confirmed by the arrival of lieut. Downes, who had left the ship early in the morning, while she was becalmed. His arrival was welcomed by our seamen with three cheers; and at 3 P. M. the Essex Junior anchored near us. By this ship I received several letters from our consul-general at Valparaiso, as well as other friends there; also letters from our consul at Buenos Ayres, and newspapers, which, though of old dates, contained news of the greatest interest to us.

      We obtained intelligence by them of the re-election of Mr. Madison to the presidency, and various changes in the different executive departments of the government, also the most satisfactory accounts of the successes of our navy, in every instance where our ships had encountered an enemy of equal force; and my letters from our consul at Buenos Ayres informed me, that on the 5th July the British frigate Phoebe, of 36 guns, and the Raccoon and Cherub sloops of war, of 24 guns each, accompanied by a storeship of 20 guns, had sailed from Rio de Janeiro for the Pacific ocean, in pursuit of the Essex. I also obtained intelligence that several British merchant ships were soon expected at Valparaiso from England, with valuable cargoes; and Mr. Downes informed me, that he had left one there richly laden, and on the point of sailing for India.

      Lieut. Downes had moored the Montezuma, Hector, and Catharine at Valparaiso, but had dispatched the Policy for America, as there was no prospect of selling the ship or her cargo to any advantage at Valparaiso, as an open declaration of war had taken place between Chili and Peru, and an entire stop put to the commerce between the two governments, which had hitherto continued uninterrupted, notwithstanding their hostilities to each other

      The Chilians showed to lieut. Downes the same friendly disposition which I had formerly experienced, and every facility was offered to him in procuring his supplies, as well as those wanting for the Essex. He met with some delays in consequence of the stagnation of commerce, but every assistance that the government could give him was afforded.

      The only British whale-ship we could hear of on the coast was the Comet, a letter of marque of 20 guns; her guns had been taken from her by the government of Chili, in consequence of having taken an active part in favour of the Peruvians; she was therefore laid up at Conception. She and the aforesaid ship at Valparaiso bound to India, and the English brig which I found there on my arrival, were the only British vessels that I could hear of on the coast of Chili and Peru; and as I believed it highly probable, that the ship bound to India world touch at the Marquesas on her way thence, I thought it likely, that, by a speedy arrival there, I should be enabled to catch her. There was none of the news I had received which could induce me to alter my original plan of going to the Marquesas; the repairs and smoking of my ship were paramount to every other consideration, and, I knew of no place where I could be more likely to do it undisturbed.

      The morning after the arrival of the Essex Junior, I hauled her alongside of the Essex, and took from on board her a quantity of rum and other articles; and now having nothing to detain us but a head wind, we made every preparation for getting under way, which we were not enabled to do until the afternoon of the 2d of October, when a light land breeze sprang up, which we took advantage of to get out of the harbour; and as it soon after shifted to the southward, we were the greater part of the succeeding night in beating through the sound (which I call Decatur's Sound) into the south or Elizabeth Bay.

      Prior to leaving the cove, Rynard wrote a penitent letter to me, begging me to overlook his conduct, and reinstate him on board the Essex; this however I would not consent to; but on his request, as well as that of lieutenant Downes, I agreed that he should join the Essex Junior in the capacity of seaman, on his

promise that in future there should be no cause of complaint against him.

      And now I shall notice the important services rendered by our coming into the Pacific. In the first place, by our captures, we have completely broken up that important branch of British navigation, the whale-fishery of the coast of Chili and Peru, as we have captured all their vessels engaged in that pursuit except the aforesaid ship Comet. By these captures we have deprived the enemy of property to the amount of two and a half millions of dollars, and of the services of 360 seamen that I liberated on parole, not to serve against the United States until regularly exchanged. We have effectually prevented them from doing any injury to our own whale-ships, only two of which have been captured, and their captures took place before our arrival. Shortly after my appearance in those seas, our whale-ships, which had taken refuge at Conception and Valparaiso, boldly ventured to sea in pursuit of whales, and on the arrival of the Essex Junior at Valparaiso, four of them had returned there with full cargoes, and were waiting for a convoy to protect them some distance from the coast, that they might be enabled to take the advantage of the winter season for getting into a port of the United States. This protection lieutenant Downes was enabled to afford them on his departure from thence, and the four ships lying there, as well as my prize the Policy, sailed in company with him until he had seen them a sufficient distance beyond the usual cruizing ground of British armed ships.

      The expence also of employing the frigate Phoebe, the sloops of war Raccoon and Cherub, and their store-ship, should also be taken into the estimate of the injury we have done them; for it is evident that they would not have been sent into the Pacific had it not been for the appearance of the Essex there, as for many years past they have employed no ships of war in this part of the world, nor were those sent until they had heard of our arrival at Valparaiso. Whether the said ships will succeed in doubling Cape Horn, or meet the fate of lord Anson's squadron, time alone will shew, at present, I shall merely take into my estimate the expences of equipping and employing them for one year, which cannot fall far short of

250,000 dollars, which it is more than probable will prove a dead loss to them, as the United States have now no commerce in this part of the world for them to annoy; and as they are reported to be dull sailers, it does not seem likely that they will succeed in their pursuit of the Essex, even if they should all keep together and fall in with her; and if they should cruize separately, they will have more to fear from our enterprize than we have to apprehend from theirs

      It appears by this estimate, that the balance against the British, occasioned by our coming into this sea, is 5,170,000 dollars; for there cannot be a doubt that all our whale-ships would have been captured, had we not effectually prevented it by the capture of all of theirs. It is true that we have, as individuals, been as yet but little benefitted by our captures; this consideration, however, has had but little weight with us; the object of the government is to injure the enemy; it derives no advantage from captures, however valuable they may prove; by our captures we have effected the object of government, and whether we sell or destroy them is of importance only to ourselves.

      And now I am about quitting the Gallapagos islands, perhaps for ever, and have shaped my course to the westward, let us compare our situation with that of lord Anson when he left the coast of Peru for China. I have already taken the liberty to touch on that subject at the time I passed the streights of Le

Maire; the comparison was then greatly to our disadvantage. It has been seen what were our successes; our distresses are not worth mentioning; and the only evil now, to be removed is the rats, which, although disagreeable companions (which it is necessary to remove), and occasion considerable havoc, are very far from rendering our situation a distressed one. Our supplies of every thing are equal to our wants for seven months; my prizes in company, which consist of four sail of fine ships, besides the Essex Junior, are equally well furnished; and our sick list is as follows;

lain of the Centurion, whose exaggerations in many instances have been proved by the accounts given of the places he visited by other navigators, and as he was evidently disposed to give the expedition as much eclat as possible, it may naturally be supposed that he has taken good care not to fall short in his calculations.

      Lord Anson was compelled to destroy every vessel he took, because they were miserably wretched barks, unable to navigate even this mild and pacific ocean, as well as because he had not men to navigate them. On leaving the coast he had no trophies of his success to exhibit.

      The case with us is different, as the list of prize-ships now in company will show.

      They are as follows, viz;

      Two ships have been dispatched for America, to wit:
                  Georgiana
                  Policy

      And three ships have been safely moored under the batteries of Valparaiso, to wit:
                  Montezuma
                  Catharine
                  Hector

      All these vessels are copper sheathed and fastened, and in a state to proceed to the most distant part of the world, some of them remarkably fast sailers, and all superior ships.

      Prior to the pilot's leaving us, I caused him to deliver into my possession all letters which might have been given him by the crew, apprehensive that, from some accidental cause, they might have become possessed of a knowledge of our destination; they all however contained only conjectures, except one, the writer of which asserted, as he stated from good authority, that we were bound on the coast of Africa: as some of their conjectures were not far from being correct, I thought it best to destroy the whole of them, and forbid the pilot's taking any more without my consent. To the officers who were desirous of writing to their friends, I enjoined particularly not to mention the movements of the ship in any way

      At the time these appearances were sketched, we were in 50 fathoms of water; the ground was soft blue mud, very tenacious, and almost of an impalpable grain. The wind was very light and variable, and much of our advancement toward the entrance of the sound we were obliged to make by beating; consequently, we had the better opportunity for proving the soundings. Our aim, in fetching the entrance, was to reach, as near as we could with safety, the south point of Alvarado. The lead, while on either tack, was kept constantly going; the ground was uniformly of the same quality, and the soundings very gradually decreased. When we had arrived between the northern point of St. Catharine's and the southern point of Alvarado, the distance between them being about 2 3/4 miles, and the latter point about 1 mile distant from the ship, we found the depth of the water to be 12 3/4 fathoms, and the ground of the same quality as before, except its being a little harder, and intermixed with some coarse white grains of sand. Having passed these points, we proceeded, about midway between the shores, toward fort Santa Cruz, a small island close to the main-land. Fetching this fort to bear, per compass, S.W 1/4 S., distant 3 1/2 miles, and fort Ponte Groce S.E., distant about two miles, we came to, and anchored in 6 1/2 fathoms of water; the soundings, all along, having preserved the character of remarkable regularity. On the following morning, we weighed, passed by fort Santa Cruz, came to and anchored in 5 1/2 fathoms of water; when fort Santa Cruz bore, per compass, N.3/4 E, dist. 3/4 mile; fort Ponte Groce, E.N.E. 1/4 E., dist. 7 miles; fort Ratonia, S. by E. 1/2 E., dist. 4 miles; and the highest point of Alvarado, N.E. 1/4 N., dist. 13 miles. The town of St. Miguel, on the main, was in plain sight, bearing south-westward and the town of St. Catharine, not in view, was said to be

about 14 miles to the south-eastward of our anchoring place. This proved to be an excellent situation for wooding and watering. The watering-place at which we got the greater part of our supply, was on the main-land, bearing N. by W. from the ship, and at a very short and convenient distance

David Porter, 1780-1843

Porter as a captain in the American Navy.

      David Porter (February 1, 1780 – March 3, 1843) was an officer in the United States Navy in the rank of captain and the honorary title of commodore. Porter commanded a number of U.S. naval ships, including the famous USS Constitution. He saw service in the War of 1812, the Second Barbary War of 1815 and in the West Indies. On July 2, 1812, Porter hoisted the banner "Free trade and sailors' rights" as captain of the USS Essex. The phrase resonated with many Americans and became a standard summary of U.S. war aims in 1812. Porter was later court martialed; he resigned and then joined and became commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy

Early life

      Born at Boston, Massachusetts, Porter served in the Quasi-War with France first as midshipman on board USS Constellation, participating in the capture of L’Insurgente February 9, 1799; secondly, as 1st lieutenant of Experiment and later in command of USS Amphitheatre. During the First Barbary War (1801–07) Porter was 1st lieutenant of Enterprise, New York and Philadelphia and was taken prisoner when Philadelphia ran aground in Tripoli harbor October 31, 1803. After his release on June 3, 1805, he remained in the Mediterranean as acting captain of USS Constitution and later captain of Enterprise

Marriage and family

      Porter married Evalina Anderson, and they had 10 children who survived, including six sons.

      The older David Porter Sr. met and befriended another naval veteran of the Revolution, George Farragut, from Spanish Minorca. In late spring 1808, David Porter Sr. suffered sunstroke, and Farragut took him into his home, where his wife Elizabeth cared for him. Already weakened by tuberculosis, he died on June 22, 1808. Elizabeth Farragut died of yellow fever the same day. Motherless, the Farragut children were to be placed with friends and relatives.

      While visiting Farragut and his family a short time later to express thanks for their care of his father and sympathy for their loss, Commodore Porter offered to take eight-year-old James Glasgow Farragut into his own household. Young James readily agreed. In 1809 he moved with Porter to Washington, where he met Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton and expressed his wish for a midshipman's appointment. Hamilton promised that the appointment would be made as soon as he reached the age of ten; as it happened, the commission came through on December 17, 1810, six months before the boy reached his tenth birthday. When James went to sea soon after with his adoptive father, he changed his name from James to David, and it is as David Glasgow Farragut that he is remembered.

      The town of Porter and Porter County in Northwest Indiana are named after David Porter. In 1836 the county seat of Porter County, Indiana was originally named Portersville, also named for David Porter. It was changed to Valparaiso in 1837, named for Porter's participation in the naval action near Valparaíso, Chile during the War of 1812

Naval career

      Porter served in the Quasi war with France. He was appointed a midshipman on 16 April, 1798. He was assigned to the USS Constellation under the command of John Rodgers. He was promoted to lieutenant on 8 October 1799. As lieutenant he served as second in command of the schooner USS Experiment during the action of 1 January 1800, in which he got shot in his arm. He was promoted to master commandant on 22 April 1806 and was in charge of the naval forces at New Orleans from 1808 to 1810

War of 1812

      With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Porter was promoted to captain on 2 July 1812 and was assigned as commander of USS Essex. He sailed out of New York harbor with the banner, "Free trade and sailors' rights" flying from the foretopgallant mast. Captain Porter achieved fame by capturing the first British warship of the conflict, HMS Alert, August 13, 1812 as well as several merchantmen.

      In February 1813 he sailed Essex around Cape Horn and cruised the Pacific warring on British whalers. Porter's first action in the Pacific was the capture of the Peruvian vessel Nereyda, and the releases of the captured American whalers on board. Over the next year, Porter would capture 12 whaleships and 360 prisoners. In June 1813, Porter released his prisoners, on the condition that they not fight against the United States until they were formerly exchanged for American prisoners of war. Porter's usual tactic was to raise British colors to allay the British captain's suspicions, then once invited on board, he would reveal his true allegiance and purpose.

      Porter and his fleet spent October–December 1813 resting and regrouping in the Marquesas Islands, which he claimed in the name of the United States and renamed them the Madison Islands, in honor of then-President James Madison.

      On March 28, 1814 Porter was forced to surrender to Captain James Hillyar off Valparaíso after an engagement which became known as the Battle of Valparaiso with the British frigate HMS Phoebe and the sloop HMS Cherub, when his ship became too disabled to offer any resistance

West Indies

      In 1814 he was given command of the USS Firefly, the flagship of a five ship squadron destined for the West Indies to disrupt British shipping; however, a peace treaty with Britain was signed and the mission was canceled.

      From 1815 to 1822, he was a member of the Board of Navy Commissioners but gave up this post to command the expedition for suppressing piracy in the West Indies (1823–25). While in the West Indies suppressing piracy, Porter invaded the town of Fajardo, Puerto Rico (a Spanish colony) to avenge the jailing of an officer from his fleet. The American government did not sanction Porter's act, and he was court-martialed upon his return to the U.S. Porter resigned from the Navy on 18 August 1826 and, shortly after, entered the Mexican Navy as its commander-in-chief. He held this position from 1826 to 1829

Later life

      He left the Mexican service in 1829 and was appointed United States Minister to the Barbary States.

      He died on March 3, 1843 while serving as United States ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He was buried in the cemetery of the Philadelphia Naval Asylum, and then in 1845 reburied in the Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

NOTES.

      Attempt has been made to note obvious typographical errors with the "sic" notation. Porter's spelling was generally poor and erratic; no attempt was made to correct or standardize his usage of language.

SOURCE.

Author:	Captain David Porter, (1780 – 1843)
Title:	Journal of a Cruise Made to the Pacific Ocean by Captain David Porter, in the United States Frigate Essex, In the Years 1812, 1813, and 1814. Volume 1.
Publisher:	Philadelphia: Bradford and Inskeep, 1815.
Description:	vi, [2], 263, [1] pages, [2] leaves of plates

      This publication is available in PDF format courtesy of the HathiTrust (source from: New York Public Library).

      This publication is available in PDF format courtesy of the HathiTrust (source from: University of Minnesota ).

      This publication is available in PDF format courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library (source from: Smithsonian Libraries).

      This publication is available in PDF format courtesy of Google Books (source from: New York Public Library).

      This publication is available in PDF format courtesy of Archive.org (source from: Smithsonian Libraries).

Galapagos Islands  Contents  Source  Whalesite