the port appeared and made such profuse and humble apologies that the
officer could not refuse to accept them, and returned to his ship.

Such is a truthful account of the incident as it occurred. It would seem
that there was nothing in the course of the gallant naval officer that
deserved censure. One of his officers had been insulted and he compelled
the offenders to make a suitable apology. Fearing with good reason a
treacherous attack from the batteries on shore, he spiked their guns.
But when the news reached our Government Captain Porter was ordered
home, tried by court martial and sentenced to be suspended from the
service for six months. Feeling himself unjustly treated, Captain Porter
resigned and entered the Mexican navy, where he remained until 1829. In
that year Andrew Jackson became President of the United States. He had
been through trying and stormy times himself and would never submit to
insult from any man or nation. He appointed Porter consul general at
Algiers. He afterward became minister to Turkey and died March 28, 1843.

Captain Lewis Warrington succeeded Porter in the West Indies and
followed out his aggressive policy. The buccaneers were hunted down
without cessation and nest after nest broken up until, at the close of
1825, piracy in those waters was practically suppressed. For several
years, however, a squadron was maintained there and more than once its
services were needed, but the work was completed and since then no
trouble in that quarter of the world of the nature described has plagued
either ourselves or any other nation.

Even in the Mediterranean our navy had similar work to do. While little
Greece was making so gallant a struggle for freedom against Turkey a
number of her vessels played the rôle of pirate and attacked ships of
other nations. Among others, an English brig had been seized, but