PORTERS JOURNAL. 
101 
circumstances, it would not be advisable to do so, as several large 
Spanish ships, with their sails bent, and in readiness for sea, were 
lying in the port; and as those vessels were, beyond doubt, bound 
to the northward, and in all probability to Lima, I concluded on 
keeping the sea a few days longer, to give them time to get out, 
in order that intelligence might not be given by them of an Ameri¬ 
can frigate being in this part of the world. There was also in the 
port an American brig, deeply ladep, pierced for eighteen guns, 
lying close in shore, with her yards and top-masts struck, and 
her boarding nettings triced up, and in appearance prepared for 
defence; a large and clumsy-looking English brig was also lying' 
there, with her sails unbent, her crew employed in tarring down 
her rigging; and as she was very light, I concluded she was a 
whaler repairing her damages after her passage around Cape 
Horn; and calculating that she perhaps might put to sea in a few 
days, I determined on running some distance to the northward, 
and then beating up, believing my chance of intercepting her, as 
well as of obtaining a knowledge of the departure of the Spanish 
ships, would be more likely by pursuing this plan than any other. 
I consequently stood to the northward; and as soon as we took 
the breeze again, made all sail, and in four hours we were thirty 
miles from Valparaiso. The wind now dying away, and believing 
my distance sufficiently great to avoid being seen, I hauled on a 
wind to the westward. In the course of this run, in which we 
made a north course from the point of Angels, we perceived two 
reefs of rocks, that lay a considerable distance from the shore; 
tlie first three leagues from Valparaiso, and one mile from the 
coast; the second of greater extent, twenty miles from Valparaiso, 
and two miles from the coast. On both these reefs the sea breaks 
with great violence, and several of the rocks shew themselves out 
of water; these were the only dangers that we discovered; the 
rest of the coast appeared safe and bold, and had the same dismal 
appearance as that we had seen to the southward, with the excep¬ 
tion of numerous herds of cattle, which were grazing on the sun¬ 
burnt hills. 
On the morning of the 15th, we succeeded in getting off 
the point of Angels, which I ranged at two cables’ length from a 
