in the Pacific Ocean. 50 



ceal my indignation at his conduct. He endeavoured to do 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 com- 

 mander, John Shuttleworth, as well as Obadiah Wier, of the 

 Atlantic, that I felt every disposition to act generously towards 

 them. Shuttleworth was however so much intoxicated, and his 

 language so insulting, that it was with difficulty J 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 invec- 

 tives 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, 

 shown to the apartment allotted them, where feeling, in some 

 measure, restraint removed, they gave full vent to their anger, 

 and indulged in the most abusive language against our govern- 

 ment, the ship and her officers, lavishing on me in particular the 

 most scurrilous epithets, and giving 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 irri- 

 tate me by such unprovoked abuse. However, I determined 

 next day to make them sensible of the impropriety of their con- 

 duct, 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 ; and this haughty English- 

 man, who thought 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. It afforded me no small degree of pleasure to dis- 

 cover, that the Atlantic had on board about one hundred tons of 

 water, an article of more value to us than any thing else ; for we 

 scarcely had water remaining on board our own ship, to take us 

 even to the island of Cocos. Some of our prizes were very far short 

 of the necessary supply ; and none of the others had 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 



