308 NARKATIVE OF A JOURNEY 



the insurrection, and was on the ground at the time of the murder 

 of Portales, yet he was not in the battle which followed ; and on 

 his examination, found means to prove, that during the time 

 when these scenes were transpiring, he was lying dead drunk at 

 a house in the vicinity. This proof of an alibi cleared him, 

 and his sentence will probably be commuted to imprisonment or 

 transportation. 



The squadron for Peru will sail in a few weeks, and it is ex- 

 expected that in a short time an embargo will be placed on all 

 vessels in the port, which will continue in force for a month or 

 more. 



On the 22d of August, I embarked on board the brig B. Me- 

 zick, Captain Martin, bound for Philadelphia, and in the evening, 

 sailed out of the harbor of Valparaiso. 



September 1th. — During the past week we have had some 

 Cape Horn weather — rain, snow, and hail, but happily, no ice. 

 The sea has been tremendously high, and still continues so, with 

 the weather excessively cold. We may, however, consider our- 

 selves peculiarly favored, as not a day has passed, in which 

 we did not see the sun and ascertain our longitude. Pro- 

 bably the greatest difficulty and danger of this vicinity is 

 the constant darkness and gloom which is its usual cha- 

 racteristic. You are in consequence, unable to ascertain 

 your true position by observation, and dead reckoning fur- 

 nishes but an insecure guide when powerful currents are im- 

 pelling you to leeward, and drifting your vessel towards the 

 most frightful of all dangers, a rocky lee-coast. We have now 

 doubled the cape, and are steering N. E., the island of Diego 

 Ramirez bearing W. 130 miles. We have therefore left the 

 Pacific, and are now in the South Atlantic ocean. 



October 8th. — We are within about two degrees of the tropical 

 line, and, with good breezes, only about twenty-five days sail 

 from the capes of Delaware. Oh, who can describe the anxious 



