PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
213 
It now became necessary to think of disposing of all my pri¬ 
soners, as, independent of the inconvenience they were likely to 
put us to by their great consumption of provisions, they were a great 
incumbrance to us ; and as repeated application had been made 
to me by them to put them on shore at this place, I at length con¬ 
sented, furnishing them with provisions, and giving to them three 
boats, for the purpose of transporting them and their. baggage 
from the river’s mouth to Tumbez, which, with a large canoe and 
a launch which they hired for the purpose, were found fully suffi¬ 
cient. Previous to putting them on shore, I carefully restored to 
each prisoner (even to that renegado Wier and captain Shuttle- 
worth) every article which had been taken from them, and all en¬ 
tered into an obligation not to serve against the United States un¬ 
til regularly exchanged. 
And now having no occasion to remain longer in Tumbez, I 
on the morning of the 30th made the signal for getting under way, 
and on the 1st got clear of the Gulf of Guyaquil, and stretched 
away to the westward, to fall in with the easterly trade-winds, 
which are seldom met with until you get from 100 to 150 leagues 
from the land. 
As the Essex Junior was very imperfectly equipped for a 
cruize, I continued in company with her, keeping my carpenters 
and others constantly at work on board her, building up breast¬ 
works, and making the necessary alterations on board her; and 
on the 4th of July a salute of 17 guns was fired from the Essex, 
Essex Junior, and Greenwich, in commemoration of the anniver¬ 
sary of the independence of the United States ; and as we were 
enabled to procure from the prizes a sufficient quantity of spi¬ 
rits to issue to our crew, the day was spent in the utmost convi¬ 
viality, their grog being doubly relished from their having for 
some time past been entirely destitute of it. 
On the 9th, having completed the equipments of the Essex 
Junior, and there being no necessity for my remaing longer with 
her, I directed lieutenant Downes to proceed to Valparaiso with 
the prize-ships Hector, Catharine, Policy, and Montezuma, and 
the American ship Barclay, with directions to leave the Bar¬ 
clay there, and to sell the others to the best advantage, leaving 
