PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
61 
me at three rendezvous; the state of my provisions would not 
admit of going oft' St. Helena’s to intercept the returning India* 
men, nor would my force justify the proceeding; to remain, how¬ 
ever, longer here, where I could get no supplies, would be a folly, 
and it became absolutely necessary to depart from the letter of 
my instructions ; I therefore determined to pursue that course 
which seemed to me best calculated to injure the enemy, and 
would enable me to prolong my cruize: this could only be done 
by going into a friendly port, where I could increase my supplies 
without the danger of blockade, and the first place that present¬ 
ed itself to my mind, was the port of Conception, on the coast of 
Chili. The season, to be sure, was far advanced for doubling 
Cape Horn; our stock of provisions was short, and the ship in 
other respects not well supplied with stores for so long a cruize; 
but there appeared no other choice left for me, except capture, 
starvation, or blockade ; this course, of all others, appeared to me 
also the most justifiable, as it accorded with the views of the 
honourable secretary of the navy, as well as those of my imme¬ 
diate commander. Before the declaration of war, I wrote a letter 
to the former, containing a plan for annoying the enemy’s com¬ 
merce in the Pacific ocean, which was approved of by him; and 
prior to my sailing, com. Bainbridge requested my opinion, as to 
the best mode of annoying the enemy. I laid before him the same 
plan, and received his answer approving of the same, and signify¬ 
ing his intentions to pursue it, provided we could get supplies of 
provisions. 
My stock of provisions, agreeably to the purser’s report, was 
as follows: 184 barrels of beef, 114 barrels of pork, 21,763 pounds 
of bread, 1741 gallons of spirits, 201 gallons of vinegar, 108 gal¬ 
lons of molasses, and 10 boxes of spermaceti and 17 of tallow 
candles; which, on two thirds allowance of beef, and half al¬ 
lowance of bread, other articles in the same proportion as the 
beef, were sufficient to serve us as follows : 
Beef, 
36 weeks and 5 
days 
Pork, 
22 
do. 
5 
do. 
Bread, 
22 
do. 
1 
do. 
Spirits, 
13 
do. 
,2 
do. 
