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.