PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
%% 
fee compelled to leave the island, as the drought for the last two 
years had prevented them from raising any corn, and that there 
was no such thing as bread in the islands; indeed the governor’s 
table sufficiently bespoke the scarcity of it. He told me that the 
island of St. Vincents afforded a much more commodious harbour, 
a more abundant and cheaper supply of cattle, with fruits of every 
description in the greatest quantities, and fresh water in abun¬ 
dance, that could be procured with ease; and, as he was the pos¬ 
sessor of most of the property in the island, gave me a letter to his 
overseer (to be delivered in the event of my going there), direct- 
ing him to furnish us with every supply we might need. 
The friendly attentions we met with in the port of Praya, could 
not have been exceeded in any port of the United States; and, as the 
Portuguese are the allies of Great Britain, their attentions were as 
surprising as they were unexpected. I found, however, after I 
had been with them a short time, that their attachment to the 
Americans, growing out of their commercial interests and con¬ 
cerns, were very strong; that the only British vessels that ever 
touched there were vessels of war, who came for supplies, with 
the haughty unconciliating conduct of the commanders and offi¬ 
cers of which they were by no means satisfied. They spoke of 
the prince regent as the slave, the tool of the British government, 
and were highly gratified with the accounts I gave them of our 
little success over the ships of that imperious navy. The goveiv 
nor assured me, he would give me every protection against any 
British force that should arrive there during my stay, and express¬ 
ed a strong desire that we should make him another visit, when 
he hoped to make our time more agreeable. 
The two greatest evils to guard against ini refreshing at Port 
Praya, is the bad rum of the country, and the heat of the sun, to 
both of which the watering party are unavoidably exposed. The 
negroes and seamen have such a variety of expedients for getting 
rum on board, that it is almost impossible to detect them. They 
hover about the beach with the bottles under their arms, and the 
shawls of the females serve the better to conceal them; and at a 
favourable opportunity they bury them in the sand, receive their 
money, and the sailor watches his opportunity for getting it on 
