Having now a clear navigation, they prosecuted their voyage without meeting with any thing worthy of notice till the 31st of July, when at six clock in the morning they saw the island of Saypan bearing west by south six leagues distant. Having light baffling winds, they did not get in with the land till the approach of evening, so that the night was spent in standing off and on. At day-light the next morning, Captain Marshall sent his boat on shore, with the chief mate and four seamen, to procure some refreshments, and look for anchorage. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the boats returned loaded with cocoa-nuts and cabbage, both, as the men reported, from the same tree, but they could find no place for a vessel to anchor in, the water being very deep close to the land, with a rocky bottom, and so heavy a surf that the boat did not land without great difficulty. Not meeting with a harbour at Sapan, the Captain determined to make the best of his way to Tinian, where he might come to anchor and get his sick people on shore, having no less than fifteen men laid up with the scurvy, and the rest of his crew were so weak that they could scarcely work the ship: the wind, however, was so variable, that they did not reach the south-west side of that island till afternoon on the 4th, when they anchored in twenty-five fathoms water, and soon afterwards the Charlotte came to anchor a small distance from the Scarborough.
5 August 1788-8 August 1788
Early the next morning, Captain Marshall sent his sick people on shore, with a tent, and a sufficient quantity of provisions to serve them five days. After landing the sick, and erecting their tent, the boats crew walked about the island, and saw a great number of cattle, hogs, and fowls, but they only caught a calf, one hog, and a fowl or two, and loaded the boat with cocoanuts, oranges, and limes. On the 6th, the chief mate was sent on shore to look for fresh water; he soon found out the well, mentioned in Lord Anson's voyage, but it was quite dry, and there was not any fresh water to be met with within two miles of the landing place. The boat returned at noon, loaded with fruit of different sorts. Toward evening the wind came round to south south-west blowing very strong, which sent a heavy sea rolling into the bay, and occasioned the Scarborough to pitch very much. The wind still blowing strongly into the bay, Captain Marshall sent his boat on shore on the 7th, to bring off the sick people, which they accomplished with much danger and difficulty; in the mean time, every thing was got ready for sea, the Captain being determined to get away the moment the wind shifted to south or south by east, so that they could clear the west part of the island. During the night, they had so heavy a gale at south-west that they expected every minute to be driven on shore; fortunately, however, at day-break, the wind shifted to south south-east, on which they immediately cut the cable and ran clear of the land: Captain Gilbert cut both his cables and followed the Scarborough. Scarce had they cleared the land before the wind again shifted to south-south-west, and blew a complete hurricane, so that had the vessels then been at anchor, they must inevitably have been driven on shore. Though Captain Marshall's people were on land so short a time, they found amazing benefit from it, their strength gradually returned, and soon afterwards they were perfectly restored to health.
7 September 1788
No particular occurrence happened during their passage from Tinian to China; they saw the Lema Islands in the afternoon of the 7th of September, and came to anchor in Macao Roads the following afternoon.
Chapter XXII.
Supplemental Account of Animals
BIRDS.
No. 139. BANKIAN COCKATOO. Order II. Pies. Genus V. Parrot.