Midshipman Farragut . amaha did reach home again after having swam somefifteen miles. CHAPTER XIL A SAILOR ON HORSEBACK. New Years Day of the year 1814 was passed onshipboard. The men of the Essex had again com-menced the ceaseless drilling-. It was remarked in after years by many oflficerswhen they saw a seaman who was especially proficientwith the cutlass, that that man must have been onthe Essex. Every detail of the drill was carefully at-tended to, and the stay on shore, the exercise andhealthy food—all had placed the crew, as we have re-marked before, in a fine state of health. The wavthe
Midshipman Farragut . amaha did reach home again after having swam somefifteen miles. CHAPTER XIL A SAILOR ON HORSEBACK. New Years Day of the year 1814 was passed onshipboard. The men of the Essex had again com-menced the ceaseless drilling-. It was remarked in after years by many oflficerswhen they saw a seaman who was especially proficientwith the cutlass, that that man must have been onthe Essex. Every detail of the drill was carefully at-tended to, and the stay on shore, the exercise andhealthy food—all had placed the crew, as we have re-marked before, in a fine state of health. The wavthey handled the great guns and scrambled aloft, andthe cheerful answers to orders, all meant much shouldthe frigate ever meet an enemy worthy to exchangebroadsides with her. Looking in at Concepcion, the Essex proceededdown the Chilian coast and came to anchor in theharbor of Valparaiso. Here she found a number ofEnglish merchantmen and one or two Americans atanchor. As soon as Porter had found a good berth for his 98. A SAILOR ON HORSEBACK. 97 vessel and another for the Essex, Jr., the men appliedfor liberty. Odenheimer, Clark, Tittermary, and Farragut askedfor shore leave on the second day. It was granted,and in a crowded boat they were rowed to land. Theliberty men were dressed in their best white suits, anda brave array of brown, hearty fellows they made asthey clambered up at the stone landing place andseparated into the narrow streets in groups of fiveand six. The costumes of the inhabitants, the broad hatswith bright colors, the scrapes and the potichos, held agreat fascination for the boys. Gazing about them,they followed a passageway between the low whitebuildings until they came to a public square. Across the plaza a church rose above the palms ofa little garden. The deep-toned bell, struck the hour,and a procession of priests came from one of theneighboring buildings and entered the doorway of thechurch. From the windows of the houses occasionally mightbe seen dark-e
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