18 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
and more good humour than I expected; and although some were 
most unmercifully scraped, the only satisfaction sought was that of 
shaving others in their turn with new invented tortures. 
24th spoke a Portuguese ship from Madeira bound to St. Bartho« 
lomews, the captain of which informed us, that an English frigate, 
bound to the Cape of Good Hope, had touched at Madeira, and 
brought intelligence of the war. As we were under English co« 
lours, I of course affected much surprise at the news, and question® 
ed him accordingly. 
26th, at sunrise, discovered the island of St. Nicholas; shortly 
afterwards spoke a Portuguese brig bound to St. Anthony’s ; run 
down among the islands that day, and the next night passed ill 
sight of the isles of Sal and Bonavista. The first is high, and may 
be known by a hill that appears in form like a sugar-loaf, on 
first making the island; the second has a ragged, irregular ap¬ 
pearance. 
27th, in the morning, we were between the isles of Mayo and St* 
Jago. On the sides of the mountains of the latter we could perceive 
several villages and large flocks of goats, but the arid appearance 
of the soil scarcely left us the hope that it would afford us the re¬ 
freshments we purposed stopping for, as no vegetable or tree of 
any description could be perceived by us but a few scattering 
cocoa-nut trees. The island had altogether the most dreary and 
uncultivated appearance, and I had partly determined in my own 
mind only to look into the road of Praya, to see if there should be 
any of our ships of war there, as this was the first rendezvous fixed 
on by commodore Bainbridge ; and, should they not be there, to 
proceed on. At 2 P. M. rounded to the east point of Port Praya, 
and stretched into the harbour, showing the American colours, the 
Portuguese being displayed on a flashy flag-staff erected on a hill 
at one corner of the ruins of a fort, in the bottom of the bay, and in 
front of the town. Perceiving no vessels in the bay except a small 
Portuguese schooner, I hauled off; but being desirous of procuring 
some information respecting the commodore, as this was the day ap¬ 
pointed by him to leave this place for Fernando de Narhona, I con¬ 
cluded on sending lieut. Downes on shore, with a person who could 
speak the Portuguese language; and as a pretext for so doing I di- 
