forter's journal. 



221 



of meeting with his friend and fellow-sufferer, midshipnnan 

 Clapp, with whom he went ashore in the afternoon. 

 Among the strange pieces of news which they learnt at this 

 place, was a story, calculated to bias the minds of the pa- 

 triots — that the king of England, after sending 20,000 

 troops to the United States, under the command of ' lord 

 Wellington,' had created the said ' lord' emperor of North 

 America, in reward for his good conduct ! 



On gaining the shore, heut. Gamble repaired immedi- 

 ately to the house of that excellent man, Mr. Blanco, the 

 American vice-consul ; who received him in his arms, as a 

 father, and entertained him in the most friendly manner, 

 during the whole of his stay at Valparaiso. This friendship 

 was not alone confined to Mr. Blanco ; the people in ge- 

 neral were rejoiced to see an officer of the Essex, and 

 always spoke in the highest terms, of the conduct of her 

 brave crew, on the day of their capture. Lieut. Gamble 

 found here about twenty of the crew of the Essex, in a 

 destitute condition ; and was told that several others had 

 enlisted in the army at Santiago. Whatever may have 

 been the behaviour of the former subsequently to my de- 

 parture from Valparaiso, I am pretty well convinced, that 

 their sufferings must have been owing entirely to their 

 own miwsconduct ; for the generous patriots will never let 

 an honest tar suffer, while the means of relief are to be had. 



As Captain Tucker, contrary to every principle of sound 

 reason and humanity, would not permit Captain Whitte- 

 more to leave the ship for a moment, whilst the other prison- 

 ers were all allowed to go on shore, and even to take lodg- 

 ings in the town, lieut. Gamble thought proper to repre- 

 sent the matter to the Governor, through the medium of 

 Mr. Blanco, in order to obtain some relief. The grounds of 

 this extraordinary oppression, I confess myself unable to 

 comprehend. Captain Whittemore had invariably sup- 

 ported the character of a gentleman, and had on no occa- 

 sion excited the ill humour of the commander of the 

 Cherub. There was one circumstance, however, that 

 probably operated with some force upon the mind of the 

 British captain. My readers will remember how actively 

 he laboured, by fair and by foul means, to get hold of Cap- 

 tain Whittemore's property at the island of Otooi, and how 

 completely his views were frustrated. Now, to people of 



