ure had been declared,
because of the serious misunderstanding existing when he was last in
port between his Emperor and the American consul. This story was too
improbable to be believed, and Captain Bainbridge of the
_Philadelphia_ threatened to hang as a common pirate the mendacious
Reis Ibrah[=i]m Lubarez unless he showed his commission. When the
rover saw this menace did not issue in idleness, he confessed he had
been mistaken, and that he had been ordered by the Governor of
Tangiers to capture American vessels. This made the matter one which
required decisive action, and so the prize was towed to Gibraltar, and
Preble sailed for Tangiers to demand satisfaction. There was the usual
interchange of paper bullets and of salutes; but, in the end, the
aggressive Commodore prevailed. The Emperor expressed his regret for
the hostile acts, and disowned them; he punished the marauders,
released all vessels previously captured, agreed to ratify the treaty
made by his father in 1786, and added that "his friendship for
America should last for ever."

This affair being settled, Preble detailed the _Philadelphia_ and
_Vixen_ for the blockade of Tripoli, and then, as the season was too
advanced for further operations, began preparations for the repairs
and equipment needed for the next season.

The work assigned to the _Philadelphia_ and _Vixen_ was rigorous, for
the coast--fretted with shoals, reefs, and unknown currents, and
harassed by sudden squalls, strong gales, and bad holding
grounds--demanded unceasing watchfulness, and rendered very difficult
the securing of proper food and ship's stores from the distance of the
supplying base. Bad as this was in the beginning, it became worse when
in October the _Vixen_ sailed eastward in search of a Tripolitan
cruiser which was said to have slipped past the line at night, for
then the whole duty, mainly inshore chasing, fell to the deep-draught
frigate. It was while thus employed that she came to misfortune, as
Cooper writes, in his History of the United States Navy: "Towards the
last of October the wind, which had been strong from the westward for
some time previously, drove the _Philadelphia_ a considerable distance
to the eastward of the town, and on Monday, October the 31st, as she
was running down to her station again with a fair breeze, about nine
in the morning a vessel was seen inshore and to windward, standing for
Tripoli. Sail was made to cut her off. Believing himself to b