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PORTER S JOURNAL. 



which gave me the utmost pain, as it was attended by the 

 premature death of a promising young oflicer, whereby the 

 service at this time has received an irreparable injury, and 

 by a practice which disgraces human nature. I shall, how- 

 ever, throw a veil over the whole previous proceedings, and 

 merely state, that without my knowledge the parties met ou 

 shore at day-light, and at the third fire Mr. Cowan fell dead. 

 His remains were buried the same day in the spot where he 

 fell, and the following inscription was placed over his tomb : 



Sacred to the memory 

 OF LIEUT. JOHN S. COWAN, 

 Of the U. S. Frigate Essex, 

 Who died here anno 1813, 

 Aged 21 years. 



His loss is ever to be regretted 

 By his country ; 

 And mourned by his friends 

 And brother officers. 



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-topsail, a considerable quantity of cordage fi'om old 

 rope, and supplied ourselves'with such articles as we requi- 

 red from the prizes, as well as broken up our hold, clean- 

 sed and re-stowed it, scrubbed our bottom, on which con- 

 siderable 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 Au- 

 gust, got under way. Prior to my leaving the place, I buried 

 a letter for lieutenant 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 fne, for the purpose of pointing 

 out to such as may hereafter visit the island the grave of 

 Mr. Cowan. With a design of misleading the enemy, I left 

 in a bottle, suspended at tlie 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 



