After so many months of cruising, Captain Perry was very glad to be
again in his own country.
He spent the next two years quietly at home with his family. He built a
snug little cottage in Narragansett, on the old Perry estate. This was
the same farm that had been purchased by the young Quaker, Edmund Perry,
so many years before. Here the family spent the summers.
Captain Perry was always fond of life in the country. He took many long
rides on horseback. Besides his horses, he had many other pets on the
farm. He and his three little sons spent a great deal of time taking
care of them.
The winters were passed in the house at Newport.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN PERRY'S RESIDENCE AT NEWPORT.]
These were the happiest years of Oliver Perry's life, and he could not
help but be sorry, when, on March 31, 1819, he received a summons to go
to Washington.
Upon arriving there, the Secretary of the Navy told him of an expedition
that the government wished him to undertake.
He was to go to Venezuela, on the northern coast of South America. This
was a new republic which had formerly been a colony of Spain. Its
people were still fighting for their independence, just as the people of
the United States had fought against the king of England.
Small, fast-sailing war vessels, called privateers, had been fitted out
by this republic. These vessels were designed to capture Spanish
merchant ships, and were allowed to keep all the money that was obtained
from the prizes.
But it was not the Spanish ships alone which suffered from these
privateers. The desire for prize money led them to attack ships of other
nations. The American merchants had met with many losses in this way.
Captain Perry was to present claims for these losses, and also to
persuade the president of Venezuela to keep his privateers from preying
on American commerce. For this expedition, Perry was to have two
vessels, the sloop _John Adams_ and the schooner _Nonsuch_.
On July 15, 1819, he arrived at the mouth of the Orinoco River. Here he
was obliged to take the small schooner in order to go up the river and
reach the town of Angostura, which was then the Venezuelan capital. He
sent the _John Adams_ to Port Spain, on the island of Trinidad, one
hundred and fifty miles away. This vessel was ordered to wait there for
his return.
The voyage up the Orinoco was an interesting one. All along the shores
were vast tropical forests with overhanging trees full of birds of
brilliant colors. Luxuriant vines were festooned from limb to limb.
Flowers of all colors grew everywhere.
On the other hand, the trip was full of hardships. The heat was fearful
and the sand-flies, gnats, and mosquitoes were almost unbearable.
Soon after reaching Angostura many of the crew were taken ill with
yellow fever, but Perry would not leave until his mission was
accomplished. After three weeks of delay, he succeeded in getting the
promises for which he had come.
The schooner then sailed down the river, reaching the mouth on August
15th. On account of a high sea, to cross the bar that night would be a
dangerous undertaking, and the vessel was therefore anchored until
morning.
During the night, the wind freshened so much that the spray dashed into
the cabin where Captain Perry was sleeping. In the morning he awoke with
a cold chill and symptoms of yellow fever.
Every effort was made to reach the _John Adams_ as soon as possible.
Captain Perry grew rapidly worse. In the intense heat, his little
schooner cabin was most uncomfortable.
The winds were unfavorable and the progress of the little vessel was
slow. When within a mile of the _John Adams_, Captain Perry died. This
was on his thirty-fourth birthday, August 23, 1819.
He was buried on the island of Trinidad with military honors, and the
_John Adams_ brought back the sad news to the United States.
His death was regarded as a national calamity. The government sent a war
vessel to bring his body home. He was finally laid to rest at Newport,
where a granite monument marks his grave.
The feelings of his fellow officers were well expressed by Stephen
Decatur. Upon hearing of Perry's death, he said: "Sir! The American navy
has lost its brightest ornament!"