4 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
more to the southward, until I reached the latitude of 9° south? 
then shaped my course due west, allowing for the variation of the 
compass. 
On the 6th October finding that some of my prizes occa¬ 
sioned some delay, I determined to despatch the Essex Junior for 
the Marquesas, and my reasons for so doing were founded on a 
firm belief that the Mary-Ann, the ship left by Mr. Downes at 
Valparaiso, would touch at those islands on her way to India: and 
the cause of this belief was, that the captain of that ship had fre¬ 
quently declared in the presence of Mr. Downes his intention of 
going round Cape Horn, and the fact that she was short of fire¬ 
wood, which was an article that could not be procured at Valpa¬ 
raiso without paying very high for it, which was what the captain 
of that vessel did not seem disposed to do—added to which there 
was an American captain at Valparaiso of considerable intelli¬ 
gence, who had lately made a voyage to China from that port and 
had touched at the island of St. Christiana (one of the Marque¬ 
sas) in his passage there, where he had supplied himself abun¬ 
dantly with refreshments and wood, as he had also done in a for¬ 
mer voyage. Between this gentleman and the English captain a 
considerable degree of intimacy subsisted, and I felt satisfied that 
his advice would be for him to take that route and touch there, 
which advice I had no doubt of his following, for I could not per¬ 
suade myself that any person would be so mad as to brave the 
tempestuous seas of Cape Horn to go to India, when it was in his 
power to proceed the whole way there with fine winds and plea¬ 
sant weather, and I believed that the declarations made in the pre¬ 
sence of lieutenant Downes were purposely to mislead that offi¬ 
cer. Under the impression therefore that he would touch at St. 
Christiana, I directed lieutenant Downes to proceed there, and af¬ 
terwards join me at Port Anna Maria, in the Island of Nooahee- 
vah, one of the Washington Islands, which place I also appointed 
as a rendezvous for all the other vessels, in case of separation. 
Lieutenant Downes consequently made all sail, and at sunset was 
out of sight ahead. 
From the time of the departure of lieutenant Downes until 
the 23rd. October when we made the island of Teebooa, one of 
the group of the Marquesas, few circumstances of any moment 
