PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
H3 
to the English brig in port claimed my protection, and I took 
them on board; and, as my prisoners were an incumbrance to 
me, I landed the whole of them the morning I left port, except 
one, who the evening before had attempted to make his escape 
by swimming away ; and as this man had not confided in my 
generosity, I considered that he had forfeited all claim to it. I 
also intimated to Mr. Nelson, (a Dane found on board the Eliza¬ 
beth, who preferred remaining with us,) that he could not remain 
any longer on board ; and, as he was destitute of money, we 
raised a subscription suited to his immediate wants, and I gave 
him a letter to the consul-general, which, I am in hopes, will be 
the means of placing him in some employment that will afford 
him a support. 
The town of Valparaiso is pleasantly situated at the bottom of 
the bay, and is a place of considerable commerce. The anchor¬ 
age is in front, and from two to five cables length from the shore, 
where vessels lie secure, and are sheltered from all except the 
north winds, which blow directly into the harbour, and occasion 
a considerable sea; and there have'been instances of vessels 
having been driven on shore by them, and all hands perishing. 
On the eastern limits of the town, towards the village of Alman- 
dral, and near some rocks, is erected a cross, as a monument of 
the loss of a Spanish ship that was driven on shore there, and all 
her crew lost. 
The bay is entirely free from danger, and the only advice 
necessary for running into the harbour, is to stand in for the 
middle of the town, choosing your anchorage in from 25 to 7 
fathoms water; the bottom is every where clean, and the holding 
ground good ; and as the port has been so accurately and mi¬ 
nutely described by Vancouver and others, any further directions 
would be superfluous. 
The customs of the inhabitants of this place differ so mate¬ 
rially from our own (and perhaps from those of every other peo¬ 
ple), that I cannot help noticing a few particulars that struck me 
as the most singular. 
At all their dinner entertainments, the principal guest is placed 
at the head of the table, the host on one side of him, and the 
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VOL. I. 
