204 
PORTER'S JOURNAL. 
sition and respect, I gave them a salute of 9 guns on their com¬ 
ing on board; and while they remained with me, which was until 
the next day, I paid every attention to them in my power, although 
their contemptible appearance, which frequently excited the risi¬ 
bility of my crew, made me sometimes blush for my guests. I 
had, on my first arrival, dispatched the Spaniards found on board 
captain Randall’s ship, to Guyaquil, with a view of getting them 
out of the way, and prevent them from interrupting, by their in¬ 
formation, the friendly intercourse I was desirous of establishing, 
as well as to endeavour to procure purchasers for my prizes, 
which I had been informed could be readily obtained there. The 
collector, however, finding we had nothing to smuggle, and giv¬ 
ing up all hopes of making a little money in that way, offered to 
go to Guyaquil, and bring down purchasers for the ships, provided 
I would give him g 200 dollars for each ship he should be the 
means of selling. To this bargain I agreed ; and the prospect of 
gaining 8 or 900 dollars, kept the creature restless the whole 
time he was on board, and he promised to start from Tumbez as 
soon as he could get a conveyance from thence to Guyaquil. To 
the governor and his suite, I gave presents to the amount of about 
g 100, before their departure, with strong expectations of more, 
and they left me with assurances of the most friendly disposition 
on their part, and the most pressing invitation for me to go to 
Tumbez, which I promised to do in the course of a day or two. 
The next day I visited the town or hamlet. It is situated about 
six miles from the river’s mouth, on the left bank of the first ri¬ 
sing ground you meet with ; from thence to the mouth of the riv¬ 
er the land is all low, similar to that of the Mississippi, covered 
with rushes, reeds, and mangroves, and here and there, on the 
most elevated parts, are to be found the huts where the natives 
have settled themselves, for the purpose of cultivating the soil, 
which produces, in great abundance, cocoa, corn, plantains, mel¬ 
ons, oranges, pumpkins, sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, &c. See. 
Their houses are formed of reeds, covered with rushes, open at 
all sides, and having the floor elevated about four feet from the 
earth, to protect them from the alligators, which are here nume¬ 
rous and of an enormous size. One of them I killed with a musket 
