256 PORTER’S JOURNAL, 
promise that in future there should be no cause of complaint 
against him. 
And now I shall notice the important services rendered by 
our coming into the Pacific. In the first place, by our captures* 
we have completely broken up that important branch of British 
navigation, the whale-fishery of the coast of Chili and Peru, as we 
have captured all their vessels engaged in that pursuit except the 
aforesaid ship Comet. By these captures we have deprived the 
enemy of property to the amount of two and a half millions of dol¬ 
lars, and of the services of 360 seamen that I liberated on parole* 
not to serve against the United States until regularly exchanged. 
We have effectually prevented them from doing any injury to our 
own whale-ships, only two of which have been captured, and their 
captures took place before our arrival. Shortly after my appear¬ 
ance in those seas, our wjiale-ships, which had taken refuge at 
Conception and Valparaiso, boldly ventured to sea in pursuit of 
whales, and on the arrival of the Essex Junior at Valparaiso, four 
of them had returned there with full cargoes, and were waiting 
for a convoy to protect them some distance from the coast, that 
they might be enabled to take the advantage of the winter season 
for getting into a port of the United States. This protection lieu¬ 
tenant Downes was enabled to afford them on his departure from 
thence, and the four ships lying there, as well as my prize the 
Policy, sailed in company with him until he had seen them a suf~ 
ficient distance beyond the usual cruizing ground of British armed 
ships. 
The expence also of employing the frigate Phoebe, the sloops 
of war Raccoon and Cherub, and their store-ship, should also be 
taken into the estimate of the injury we have done them; for it is 
evident that they would not have been sent into the Pacific had it 
not been for the appearance of the Essex there, as for many years 
past they have employed no ships of war in this part of the world? 
nor were those sent until they had heard of our arrival at Valpa¬ 
raiso. Whether the said ships will succeed in doubling Cape Horn, 
or meet the fate of lord Anson’s squadron, time alone will shew; at 
present, I shall merely take into my estimate the expences of equip¬ 
ping and employing them for one year, which cannot fall far short of 
