PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
13 $ 
mander, that I should, from time to time, so vary from this 
course, as to look over as much ground in our way as possible; 
and this method we put in practice until we made Chatham 
Island, which was on the morning of the 17th. During our run 
we had no opportunity of correcting our dead reckoning by lunar 
observations, nor have we had a chance of ascertaining the rate of 
the chronometer since leaving St. Catharines. We were enabled 
to discover by our latitude, that we had a current of 15 miles per 
24 hours, setting to the northward ; and from the violent ripples 
we frequently met with, we were induced to believe, that its rate 
was much greater, and concluded it set also westerly ; and, on our 
making the land, found we had, since taking our departure from 
Payta, been set two degrees a-head of our reckoning. We em¬ 
ployed ourselves, during our passage, in getting our magazine in 
good order for service, as we had been led to expect some re¬ 
sistance from the heavy armed letters of marque that we ex¬ 
pected to meet among the Gallapagos, employed in the whale 
fishery; and as we had understood that calms were very prevalent 
there, we prepared our boats in the best manner for attacking 
them, selecting crews for them in addition to their oarsmen ; and 
laid down plans of attack, established signals for them; and the 
whole, amounting to 7 boats, carrying 70 men, were placed un¬ 
der the command of lieut. Downes. 
I discovered that we should meet with great delays from the 
prevalence of calms; and as I could form no plans for future 
operations until my arrival at the general rendezvous of the 
whalers, I considered it advisable to put the crew on two quarts 
©f water per day. This reduction was now severely felt, as the 
weather was extremely hot; but all seemed reconciled to bear 
every privation without a murmur. The health of the crew 7 had 
improved in a remarkable manner since leaving Valparaiso, and 
at this time we had but two men on the sick list, one affected by 
chronic debility, the other by a pain in the muscles of the neck, 
but neither disabled from coming to their quarters. Doctor Mil¬ 
ler, the surgeon of the ship, a very infirm man, w 7 ho was in a 
deep consumption when he joined the ship, and whose health had 
not improved on board her, requested permission to go with his 
