They also observed, that now, as they found the waters larger and the rivers wider, they killed more fowls than formerly, and, particularly, more of the duck-foot kind, though they could not perceive any sea-fowls, or such as they had been used to. They saw a great many wild swans, and some geese, as also duck, mallard, and teal; and these, I say, increased as they drew nearer the sea.
They could give very little account of the fish which the rivers produced, though they sometimes catched a few in the smaller river; but, as they had neither fishing-hook or nets, which was the only omission in my fitting them out, they had no opportunity to furnish themselves.
They had, likewise, no salt, neither was it possible to furnish them with any, so they cured their meat in the sun, and seasoned it with that excellent sauce called hunger.
The account they gave of discovering our five men was thus. They had been, for two days, pretty successful in their navigation, as I have described it, but were obliged to stop, and put in at the mouth of a little river, which made them a good harbour. The reason of their stay was, they had no victuals, so by consent they all went a-hunting, and, at night, having shot two guinacoes and a deer, they went to supper together in their great tent; and, having fed heartily on such good provisions, they began to be merry, and the captain and officers, having a little store left, though not much, they pulled out their bottles, and drank every one a dram to their good voyage, and to the merry meeting of their ships, and gave every man the same.
But their mirth was increased beyond expressing, when two of the men, who were without the tent door, cried out, it lightened. One said he saw the flash, he was sure, and the other said, he thought he saw it too; but, as it happened, their backs were towards the east, so that they did not see the occasion.
This lightning was certainly the first flash of one of our five men's rockets, or the breaking of it, and the stars that were at the end of it, up in the air.
When the captain heard the men say it lightened, he jumped from his seat, and called aloud to them to tell which way; but they foolishly replied, to the north-west, which was the way their faces were when they saw it; but the word was no sooner spoken but the two fellows fell a-hallooing and roaring, as if they were distracted, and said they saw a rocket rise up in the air to the eastward.
So nimble were the men at this word, that they were all out of the tent in a moment, and saw the last flash of the rocket with the stars, which, spreading themselves in the air, shone with the usual bright light that it is known those fireworks give.
This made them all set up a shout of joy, as if they imagined their fellows, who were yet many miles from them, should hear them; but the captain and officers, who knew what they were to do on this occasion, ran to their baggage, and took out their own rockets, and other materials, and prepared to answer the signal.