IIS 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
Shortly afterwards, a boat was lowered down from her, and sent 
to the Essex; but perceiving her crew to be armed, I directed 
her to return immediately to the ship, with orders for her to run 
down under our lee, and for her commander to repair on board 
with his papers, and to apologize for firing a shot at us. She soon 
returned with the second lieutenant, who brought her commission, 
and stated that the captain was too unwell to leave his ship. She 
proved to be the Peruvian privateer Nereyda, of 15 guns; and the 
lieutenant informed me that they were cruizing for American ves¬ 
sels, and had captured the Barclay and Walker in the port of Co- 
quimbo, but that the British letter of marque Nimrod, captain 
Perry, had driven their people from on board the Walker, and 
taken possession of her, and that they were in search of the Nim¬ 
rod, to endeavour to recover their prize; that seeing us, with the 
Charles in company, they had supposed us to be the vessels they 
were in search of, and this had been the cause of their firing the 
shot. He stated that the Peruvians were the allies of Great Bri¬ 
tain ; that he had always respected the British flag; and that his 
sole object was the capture of American vessels ; that he had been 
out four months, and had only met the aforesaid vessels; and that 
the crew of the Barclay, and the captain and part of the crew of 
the Walker, were now detained as prisoners on board the Nerey¬ 
da. I informed him that I wished to see the captain of the Walker, 
and one of the prisoners from the Barclay; and informed him, that 
if his captain was too unwell to come on board, it would be neces¬ 
sary for the first lieutenant to repair on board, and make the apo¬ 
logy required; on which he dispatched his boat to the Nereyda, 
and, on her return, she brought captain West, of the W'alker, 
and one of the crew of the Barclay as well as the first lieutenant 
of the Nereyda. On taking captain W T est into the cabin, and as¬ 
suring him that he was on board an American frigate, he informed 
me that he, as well as the rest of the Americans on board the Ne¬ 
reyda, amounting to twenty-three, had been plundered of every 
thing; that the Spaniards had not assigned any other motives for 
the capture of the vessels, than that they were Americans; that 
both his ship and the Barclay were employed solely in the whale f 
fishery, and not concerned in any mercantile pursuit whatever; 
