PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
125 
constantly fair; the weather remarkably clear, fine, and tem¬ 
perate ; the sea smooth ; and every thing favourable for making 
such little repairs and alterations as the ship required. 
Immediately on passing the tropic, we met with flying-fish: 
this is the first we met with since we left the coast of Brazil. 
At 6 o’clock of the 28th, we were abreast the island of SangaL 
lan, or St. Gallan, when I hauled off' to the N.W., with a view of 
crossing the track of vessels bound to Calao; and on the morn* 
ing of the 29th, to the great joy of all on board, we discovered 
three sail standing in for the harbour, two to windward and one 
to leeward. I consequently made all sail for the port to cut them 
off, and, as I approached the headmost vessel, she seemed to an¬ 
swer the description I had received of the Barclay ; and as she 
was nearest to the port, I determined to turn all my attention to 
her, and to use every effort to prevent her getting in ; but as she 
approached the island of St. Lorenzo, which lies off the port of 
Calao, I began to despair of succeeding. I however directed ail 
the light sails to be wet, in order to make them hold wind the 
better, and prepared my boats to send in to bring her out of 
the harbour, if she should succeed in getting past the island. 
As I approached St. Lorenzo, I discovered that she would be 
becalmed so soon as she doubled the point of the island, as she 
eventually was. We were, at the moment of her turning the 
point, at the distance of 2J miles from her, but shot in with the 
breeze to within 100 yards of her, then lowered the boats down, 
and sent on board to tow her out, which was not effected without 
considerable labour, in consequence of an indraught. As we were 
but a short distance from the shipping in the harbour, and perceiv¬ 
ing the two Spanish vessels had not arrived from Valparaiso, I 
hoisted English colours on board the Essex, and directed the 
officer of the captured vessel (which proved to be the Barclay) 
to hoist English colours over the American. The vessels in port, 
which were numerous, now hoisted their colours, which were all 
Spanish except one British flag hoisted on board an armed ship, 
which did not answer the description of the Nimrod. The other 
strange vessels continued standing in ; one of them had the ap¬ 
pearance of a coasting brig, the other a fine-looking ship; and 
