On the following day, November the twenty-fifth, the weather clear and pleasant, a boat was sent with refreshments to our exploring party, who were overtaken at the distance of ten miles from us, just commencing their morning's march. The islets, thus far, were narrow, not averaging a quarter of a mile in breadth, and but thinly inhabited. Our party were pleased with the conduct of the natives they had seen. They gave them cocoa-nuts, without receiving any thing in return, and in the evening, when they stopped to repose for the night, provided them with huts to sleep in. The officer of the party, in the course of the day's march, found a mitten, with the name of Rowland Coffin marked on it, who, by referring to a list of the Globe's crew, proved to be one of the boys left with the mutineers. From the place where the party was found, the extent of the island could not be seen. I landed at the settlement where we were anchored, and found the hats nearly all deserted. Such of the natives, as remained, seemed disposed to be very friendly, and followed me to the beach, where I shot a few sand-snipe, which drew from them loud shouts of applause, on witnessing the effect of my musket. Near the huts I observed a number of small white cranes, one of which I shot, supposing them to be wild, but afterwards regretted it very much, on learning that they were domesticated, and held in great reverence by the natives.
At five in the morning, November the twenty-sixth, a squall arose from the eastward, which struck the vessel adrift, in the direction of the trending of the land, and, dragging off the bank, we hove the anchor up, and stood along shore to the westward. When we had run fifteen or twenty miles, we came up with our party, to whom we sent refreshments, and proceeded on, passing several remarkable points.
At three, P.M., we came to, under a point, by which we were somewhat protected from the sea, in ten fathoms of water, and about thirty fathoms from the coral rocks, where there was but three feet. We were considerably in advance of our party, whom we had now determined should march round the whole circle of islets, if information of the mutineers should not sooner be obtained. In front of us the islet was wider than any we had seen elsewhere, and presented a noble forest of cocoa-nut, interspersed every where with the broad green leaves of the bread-fruit tree, which indicated a most luxuriant growth. Huts were scattered about through the trees, and some close to the shore, forming a peaceful and romantic scene. The landing was good at low water, and practicable at high tide. As far as we could see to the westward, the land still continued.
The surgeon, who was very much debilitated, when we sailed from the coast of Peru, had gradually, and almost imperceptibly, become more feeble, and for some time past believed that he had a disease of the liver. Until within two days of coming to our present anchorage, he discharged his ordinary duties, in attending the sick, when his mind began to fail, and it was evident to us that the period of his existence was near its close. He lay for a time in a state of insensibility, receiving the little aid that his friends could afford him; and at forty-five minutes after four, P.M., November the twenty-seventh, breathed his last, deeply lamented by all the crew, to whom he had greatly endeared himself, by kind and assiduous attentions, even when he was extremely ill, and knew that he was fast hastening to the close of life. In the morning, I took a party of men on shore, and in a grove, at the foot of a wide-spreading bread-fruit tree, made the narrow bed of our departed messmate. At nine, the vessel struck adrift, and dragged off the bank. When she again stood in towards the shore, we landed, with as many of the officers and men as could be spared to bury the doctor's remains, with the honours of war. The natives assembled, to the number of twenty or thirty, and followed us to the grave, watching all our motions with an expression of great surprise. They were silent until the first discharge of musketry, when they burst into loud shouts and laughter, for which we drove them back, with threats of punishment, a considerable distance from us, where they afterwards remained quiet. At the foot and head of the grave we planted seeds of orange, lemon, and cheramoya, and upon the bread-fruit tree, at the head of it, carved his name, rank, and the vessel to which he belonged. Below this we spiked, firmly upon the tree, a brass plate, with his name, age, the vessel to which he belonged, and the day of his death inscribed upon it. A little to the eastward of the grave we had the satisfaction to find two springs of excellent water.
On the following morning our party arrived, and, after receiving refreshment, continued on to the northward and westward. They crossed a long reef, that connected the islet abreast of us with another, at the distance of a few miles, that had the appearance of a large settlement, from the immense cocoa-nut forests that rose in that direction. Soon after crossing the reef, and arriving at the extreme east end of the islet, where it was narrow and sandy, they suddenly came to a place that was strewed with several hundreds of staves of beef and pork barrels, and old pieces of canvass and cloth. In advancing a little further, they found a skeleton, lightly covered with sand, and a box, containing a few Spanish dollars. The natives, some of whom had been constantly following our party, and occasionally mingling with them, and administering, as well as they could to their wants, upon approaching this place disappeared, or were seen at a distance, skulking through the bushes. These discoveries excited the liveliest expectation of soon making others more satisfactory, and proceeding a mile further, they found an unoccupied hut, where, night approaching, they encamped. Early in the morning they took up their line of march, and had not gone far, when it was evident that the natives were preparing for hostilities. Groups of them were frequently seen at a distance, armed with spears and stones, and holding animated discussions. They were much more numerous than our party, who, upon examining their ammunition, found it was wet, and that the few arms they had, which were no other than a pistol, for each man, were also wet, and unfit for immediate use. The officer, therefore, determined to retreat to the place of his night's encampment, until he could despatch information of his situation, and ask for a reinforcement and ammunition. On arriving where he had spent the night, he found that the hut he had occupied was gone, and also that a large sail canoe, he left there, had been taken away. Not a single person was any where to be seen. Here he remained, sending two of his party to the schooner, which was now several miles from him. A little after meridian, we received them on board, and heard, with great interest, the information they gave. There was no doubt in our minds, that this was the place where the mutineers, and others of the Globe's crew, had been left,—but where are they now?—was a question, which naturally occurred to us. We had given the natives no cause, to excite them to hostility; but, on the contrary, had taken every means that suggested itself, to gain their confidence and esteem. If they wished to make war upon us, opportunities had been frequently presented, when our exploring party might have been assailed by overpowering numbers, with a prospect of success, of which they had not availed themselves, and here they were now apparently wavering between peace and war, just at the moment of our discovering the place where our countrymen had been. We knew not how to account for this change in their conduct, but by supposing that the mutineers were amongst them, and that, from our near approach, they were becoming alarmed for their safety, and had roused the natives to war, with the hope of defending themselves by open combat. If this supposition were true, and it seemed very probable, the situation of our party was very critical, and no time was to be lost in giving them the aid they asked for, and renewing our search with redoubled activity. The launch was hoisted out, and fitted with all possible expedition, and at four, P.M., November twenty-ninth, sailed with two officers and eleven men, together with the three belonging to the party, being all that we were willing to spare from the schooner, as a bold attempt upon her by a large party of the natives, led on by an enterprising and desperate chief, might have placed her and the lives of all her crew in the greatest jeopardy. I crossed the reef, which was sufficiently overflown by the high tide, to admit of it, and ran down in the inland sea to the encampment of our party, where I arrived at eight in the evening, and found them all safe; but looking for our appearance, with the greatest anxiety. I allowed the boat's crew to land, and get their supper in company with those on shore, preparatory to commencing their night's work. When we were prepared for our departure, and had embarked, I was greatly chagrined on examining the boat, to find that the shore party, to whom I had brought fresh arms and ammunition, had, in their over-anxiety to be well supplied, deprived me of part of mine, and I was under the necessity of landing, and searching, not only the men, but even the bushes, before I found them.
Our party had acquired no information since morning, but from the discoveries that had already been made, we felt satisfied, that on the following day, we should find other traces of the mutineers. In taking my departure, I stretched off with a fine breeze, but it was blowing directly from the point to which I wished to steer. I suffered the men to lay down and refresh themselves with sleep, whilst midshipman S. and myself steered the boat, and to my regret, in returning back towards the shore from whence I had started, discovered that we had lost ground; besides, our boat being clumsy and badly fitted, we found that we had to contend with a strong current. I got the oars out, therefore, and pulled dead to windward until day-light, when having proceeded about six miles, we again made sail to the northward and eastward, close haul upon a wind; it gradually veered, until I could head for an island eight or ten miles from us, which just appeared above the horizon, and where I designed to land and give the men breakfast. When within two or three miles of the island, I observed a number of canoes leaving places nearer to me and landing upon it. Two canoes had put off from thence, and were standing for me as I was beating with my clumsy boat to weather an intervening coral reef; they were manned with about twenty natives, all armed with spears and stones. When they had approached me pretty near, and were passing under my lee, I ran alongside to examine them, for which they gave us a great many cross looks. As soon as I suffered them to depart, they immediately returned to the shore from whence they came, and where I not long afterwards discovered about twenty canoes that would carry from twenty to forty men each.
The canoes I had boarded, sailed at least three miles to my one, and I now discovered the impossibility of possessing ourselves of the mutineers of the Globe, whilst they, or the natives, if friendly, to them, had the disposal of such fleet vessels, with which to avoid us whenever our too near approach endangered their safety. I determined, therefore, to take possession of all that were now assembled, even though I should be opposed by the natives, and reduced to the necessity of measuring our strength with them.
The island was small, producing but few nut trees, and having but a small number of huts upon it, notwithstanding which, there were several hundreds of people assembled;—a great crowd, considering the thinly populated state of the islands. But as this large assemblage could only have been brought together from some extraordinary cause, I determined to land and search their huts, and look round, before I made so wide a breach with them, as must necessarily result from the seizure of their canoes. I was sorry to see, on our coming near them, that they were sending their women and children towards the huts, which were at a short distance from the assemblage of natives; a movement that indicated a want of confidence in us on their part, or what was still less agreeable to us, a disposition to hostility.
There was some surf on the shore where we were about to land near the canoes, and that the boat might be the more readily at our disposal when we should have occasion for her after landing, I dropped an anchor, and was in the act of veering to through the surf, when, to my astonishment, a person dressed and looking like a native, addressed us in our own language. He was standing upon the beach thirty or forty yards distant, and half way between us and the natives, all of whom had seated themselves. The first words that we understood, were, "The Indians are going to kill you: don't come on shore unless you are prepared to fight." The scene now presented to us, inspired an indescribable sensation; for, although we were convinced that this was one of the men we were so anxiously looking for, his sudden and unexpected appearance, his wild attire, and above all, his warning, seemed like an illusion of fancy. His hair was long, combed up, and tied in a knot on the top of his head; round his loins, he wore a large mat, finely wrought, and the use of cocoa-nut oil, and the action of a tropical sun, for nearly two years, had made his skin almost as dark as that of the natives. He earnestly repeated, several times, that we must not land unless we were prepared to fight, and described the plan the natives had concerted with him, which was, to prevail upon us to come on shore and seat ourselves amongst them, when, at a given signal, they would all rise and knock us on the head with stones. This statement was probable enough, but the suspicion that this was one of the mutineers, very naturally occurred to our minds, with the questions, "Why have we not found him before? and, why does he not now fly to us for protection, if he is innocent?"—forgetting that our contemptible numbers precluded all idea of safety to him, if opposed by the numerous assemblage of natives by whom he was surrounded. I asked his name, which he told me was William Lay, and that he was one of the crew of the Globe. His stature and juvenile appearance, answered the description we had of him. I told him to come to the boat, but he said that he was afraid of the natives, who had directed him not to advance any nearer to us. I then directed him to run to us and we would protect him; but he declined, saying, that the natives would kill him with stones before he could get there. During all this time, they thought he was arranging their plan for us to come on shore, and called out frequently to him to know what we said; to which, he replied in a way calculated to suit his purpose.
After discharging and re-loading our pistols, with one of which and a cartridge-box each man was provided, we landed, and marched up to the place where Lay was standing. Still doubting whether he were not more foe than friend, and determined that, under any circumstances, he should not escape, I received him with my left hand, presenting, at the same time, a cocked pistol to his breast. I was not insensible to the sentiment my harsh reception was calculated to inspire; but circumstanced as I was, I could not risk every thing in preference to inflicting a momentary pang, keenly as it might be felt. I repeated the question, "Who are you?" to which he replied, "I am your man," and burst into tears. I told him then to say to the natives, that if they rose from their seats, or threw a stone, we would shoot them all; but the poor fellow, delirious with joy for the moment, knew not what he said, and, instead of obeying my command, called out in half English, and half Island language, in broken sentences, most of which was unintelligible to us; amongst other things, he exclaimed, "they are going to kill me, they are going to kill me." I ordered him to be silent, and then asked, why he told them we were going to kill him.—Recollecting himself immediately, he begged my pardon, declaring that he knew not what he was saying. By this time, some of the natives had risen, and were becoming very animated and violent in their conversation and gestures. Two or three of them advanced towards us; I pointed my pistol at them, and made Lay repeat my threat, which had the desired effect on all but one old man, who, unarmed, advanced in defiance of me. Lay desired me to suffer him to approach, which he did, and taking hold of Lay's hand with both of his, he asked what his countrymen were going to do with him. Lay explained to him, in a few words, as clearly as he could, at which the old man seemed much affected. This was his benefactor, the person to whom he was indebted for life; and the poor fellow seemed not wanting in sensibility or gratitude, at the moment of their parting. He embraced him affectionately, told him that he would see him again before he departed, and wept like a child. I was unwilling to remain longer than was absolutely necessary, lest the natives, when they had recovered from their first surprise, should conceive a contempt for our small number, and make trial of our strength, in which I knew they would be much superior to us, if they were determined and brave, as the first discharge of our pistols would place us upon an equality with the same number as ourselves. I therefore cut short Lay's interview with his friend, and hastened him to the boat; there he wept for joy, and gave us several proofs of the agitated state of his mind. His first impulse, which did great credit to his heart, was, to inquire if his friends were well, and then recollecting that it was probable none of us knew them, told us he belonged to East Saybrook, Connecticut, and asked if any of us were acquainted in that section of the country. He several times repeated the same questions, forgetful that he had asked them before, and that we had replied in the negative. When his mind was a little composed, we made inquiries of him respecting the rest of the Globe's crew, who had been left on the island; to which he answered, that they were all dead except Cyrus H. Huzzy, who was on an island a few miles to windward of us, and now full in sight. He asked, with an expression of great solicitude, if we would go for Huzzy, and when I told him we would, it seemed to afford him not less pleasure than his own deliverance. He stated that he and Huzzy both knew that we were in search of them, and that our vessel was a man of war. He said that the chiefs had sent spies on board of the schooner every day when it was practicable, who had communicated to them the number of guns we carried, and, within a very few, the number of which the crew consisted. They had apprised them of the force and conduct of our exploring party, descending to the minutest particulars, and even describing most of the individuals on board. They had seriously debated the question of making war upon us several times, and always consulted Lay and Huzzy as to the propriety of it, and what would probably be their prospect of success. They dissuaded them from it, of course, and filled them with apprehension, by declaring, repeatedly, that we were invincible, and that there was scarcely any thing we could not accomplish with our six-pounders; they even made them believe, trifling as our armament was, that we could sink the islands with our cannon: so ready is the human mind to receive for truth what it cannot comprehend, if recommended by superior intelligence, though it may be at variance with every thing in nature or reason.