When we had furled our sails, the remaining part of the night was allowed to our people for their repose, to recover them from the fatigue they had undergone; and in the morning a party was sent on shore well armed, of which I myself was one, to make ourselves masters of the landing place, as we were not certain what opposition might be made by the Indians on the island:  We landed without difficulty, for the Indians having perceived, by our seizure of the bark the night before, that we were enemies, they immediately fled into the woody parts of the island.  We found on shore many huts which they had inhabited, and which saved us both the time and trouble of erecting tents; one of these huts which the Indians made use of for a storehouse was very large, being twenty yards long, and fifteen broad; this we immediately cleared of some bales of jerked beef, which we found in it, and converted it into an hospital for our sick, who as soon as the place was ready to receive them were brought on shore, being in all a hundred and twenty-eight:  Numbers of these were so very helpless that we were obliged to carry them from the boats to the hospital upon our shoulders, in which humane employment (as before at Juan Fernandes) the commodore himself, and every one of his officers, were engaged without distinction; and, notwithstanding the great debility and the dying aspects of the greatest part of our sick, it is almost incredible how soon they began to feel the salutary influence of the land; for, though we buried twenty-one men on this and the preceeding day, yet we did not lose above ten men more during our whole two months stay here; and in general, our diseased received so much benefit from the fruits of the island, particularly the fruits of the acid kind, that, in a week’s time, there were but few who were not so far recovered, as to be able to move about without help.[2]

[Footnote 2:  The description of this beautiful island, and its most desirable productions, is deferred till we come to the voyage of Commodore Byron, who visited it in 1765.—­E.]

Whilst we were employed in the removal of our sick on shore, four of the Indians, being part of the Spanish serjeant’s detachment, came and surrendered themselves to us, so that with those we took in the proa, we had now eight of them in our custody.  One of the four, who submitted, undertook to show us the most convenient place for killing cattle, and two of our men were ordered to attend him on that service; but one of them unwarily trusting the Indian with his firelock and pistol, the Indian escaped with them into the woods:  His countrymen, who remained behind, were apprehensive of suffering for this perfidy of their comrade, and therefore begged leave to send one of their own party into the country, who they engaged should both bring back the arms, and persuade the whole detachment from Guam to submit to us.  The commodore granted their request; and one of them was dispatched on this errand, who returned next day,