rt 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 u