I2O The Story of the New England Whalers 



was therefore manned with naval seamen and 

 kept in company with the Essex. 



In due time, other ships having been captured, 

 Porter found himself short of officers to place in 

 command of the prizes, and in this emergency 

 he ordered Midshipman David Glasgow Farragut 

 to the command of the Barclay, although Farragut 

 was only twelve years old. What happened after 

 Farragut took command of the whale ship is told 

 in the admiral's Memoirs: 



"This arrangement caused great dissatisfaction on 

 the part of the captain of the Barclay, a violent-tempered 

 old fellow; and when the day arrived for our separation 

 from the squadron [the Barclay was ordered to Val- 

 paraiso], he was furious, and very plainly intimated to 

 me that I would 'find myself off New Zealand in the 

 morning'; to which I most decidedly demurred. We 

 were lying still while the other ships were fast disappear- 

 ing from view. 



"I considered that my day of trial had arrived (for I 

 was a little afraid, of the old fellow, as every one else 

 was). But the time had come at least for me to play 

 the man; so I mustered up courage and informed the 

 captain that I desired the mainsail filled away, in order 

 that we might close up with the Essex Junior. He 

 replied that he would shoot any man who dared touch a 



