PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
21 1 
commander had the character of being a man of great enterprize, 
and had already captured the American whale-ship Edward of 
Nantucket, and might have done great injury to the American 
commerce in those seas ; for although he had come into the Pa¬ 
cific on a whaling voyage, he had given but little attention to that 
object while there was a hope of meeting American Whalers ; but 
on requiring of this man that he should deliver to me his commis¬ 
sion, he, with the utmost terror in his countenance, informed me 
that he had none with him, but was confident that his owners had, 
before this period, taken out one for him, and that he had no doubt 
would send it to Lima, where he had expected to receive it. It 
was evident that he was a pirate, and I did not feel that it would 
be proper to treat him as I had done other prisoners of war; I 
therefore ordered him and all his crew in irons; but after enqui¬ 
ring of the American prisoners, whom I found on board the prize, 
as to the manner they had been treated by the creW of the Serin- 
gapatam, and being satisfied that they, as well as the mates, were 
not to blame for the conduct of their commander, I liberated them 
from confinement, keeping Stavers only in irons. 
I now bore up for James’ Island, at which place I was anx¬ 
ious to arrive, in order that I might, at anchor, be enabled to get 
from my prizes such articles as we might want, such as anchors 
and cables, with which they were well supplied; but, on account 
of the violence of the current, which was setting to the N.W., out 
attempt was ineffectual; for, notwithstanding every exertion to 
prevent it, we were swept to the N.W. as far as the latitude of 2° 
8' N., and seeing no hopes of succeeding in a short time, I deter¬ 
mined to give the Charlton up to the captain, (as she was an old 
ship, and a dull sailer,) on condition that he should land all my 
prisoners at Rio de Janeiro, to which contract he, as well as the 
captain of the New Zealander, bound themselves by oath; and 
after taking from her a cable, and such other articles as were ne¬ 
cessary for us, and sending all her guns and military equipments 
on board the Seringapatam, I dispatched her on the 19th, with 48 
prisoners. The mates and sailors, however, expressed their de¬ 
termination not to go to Rio de Janeiro with the ship, for fear of 
being pressed on board a British man of war ; they were very so- 
vol. i. E e 
