On 5January 1835, boats from Pelorus captured the Spanish polacca-bark Minerva, which armed with two 18-pounder and two 8-pounder guns. The boats had sailed up the Calabar river and laid in ambush. Skillful handling resulted in the capture of the slaver with no casualties to the boarding party although the vessel's guns were double-shotted and the crew and the boarding party exchanged small arms fire. The vessel had a crew of 37 men, two of whom were cut down. The boarding party consisted of 22 men. The slaver had some 650 slaves aboard, and after her capture, the master arrived with 25 more. In sum, she had 676 aboard, of whom 206 died of disease before they could be freed in Sierra Leone.
